REVELATION 21:1-8
INTRODUCTION
As John comes to the end of his vision he has a magnificent sight of the final state of all things. He speaks of a new heaven and a new earth.
When John gives such vivid descriptions of the heavenly city it is his way of bringing out the important point that the ultimate state of affairs for the believer will be very precious. John is merely using physical things of beauty and value to describe the spiritual realities the believer will experience in the new heavens and new earth.
“God…with them” - 1-4
vs 1 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.
After destroying Satan and his followers and gathering His elect from the four corners of the earth, the Lord now renovates all that is in the heavens and on the earth. It’s a complete transformation.
The new heavens and new earth will be qualitatively different from the old in that they picture the holy and perfect dwelling of God with His people.
The phrase and the sea was no more may signify that just as the former design of heaven and earth pass away so the sea no longer will exist with its present boundaries.
vs 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
The Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, is obviously the church, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband, (Jesus).
As a young bride will be thoroughly prepared and looking her best on the day of her wedding, so the “bride of Christ, the church” will be prepared as bride adorned for her husband. She will be without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless, made so by the Lord Himself through His redemptive work on the cross.
vs 3 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.
The term “dwelling” denotes the Shekinah glory of God’s presence among His people. “People” here is in the plural indicating a people from every tongue tribe and nations bought and paid for by the blood of Christ and given to the Father for His own possession.
The emphasis in this verse is on God. He will be with His elect and be their God forever. This shows the personal and intimate relationship the elect have with God as their eternal heavenly Father.
vs 4 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.
Ever since the fall into sin, mankind has shed countless tears. The shedding of tears is the result of sin, anguish, oppression, persecution, sorrow, and death.
With the departure of death, mourning, crying, and disease also disappear, for all these have been caused by the curse of sin affecting God’s creation. None of them have any part in God’s renewed creation, which is marked by peace and serenity, joy and bliss, pleasure and delight.
Separation between good and evil
21:5-8
vs 5 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.
God Himself, not an angel, is speaking here to comfort the church in all ages especially the church of John’s day that was being severely persecuted and threatened for their faith in Christ. These are words of hope for Christians in every age.
Here is the glorious outcome of God’s redemptive plan that Christ fulfilled: the renewal of all things. Notice that God calls attention to the fact that he is presently doing it, not that he will eventually do it. This utterance, therefore, is a direct revelation from God, who recreates.
John was to write these words of comfort and hope down so that the church in all ages would be encouraged as she awaits the return of their Lord.
vs 6 He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
"It is done.” God’s redemptive purpose has been fulfilled. All that He said He would do from beginning to end has been accomplished. God is in command and in the end all things work out just as He wills.
God is fully in control of every situation, so that the words spoken here are a source of comfort for believers who endure hardship and persecution for the sake of the gospel. From beginning to end God is the Sovereign ruler in the universe that He has made and upholds by his power.
“I am the Alpha and Omega,” reveals God as the Originator and Completer of all things. To those who are thirsty (God’s elect) He will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
vs 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Those who hunger and thirst after righteous and overcome sin by the blood of the lamb, (the elect), will inherit eternal life. They will have a special relationship with God, “He will be their God and they will be his sons.”
For believers, the link between being children of God and being heirs is unbreakable. Whereas Jesus is the one and only Son, we are adopted sons and daughters. And whereas Jesus inherits all things (Heb. 1:2), we as co-heirs share in all his blessings.
vs 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
All who refused to repent of their sins and come to the living water will perish in their sins forever in the lake of fire. This is the second death.
These unrepentant sinners are called “cowards” for they fear man rather than God. They are spineless. They are placed at the top of the list in contrast to all the believers on earth who suffer persecution and hardship for the sake of Christ.
These cowards were unbelieving and faithless. They are depraved and defiled, pursuing a lifestyle that is diametrically opposed to biblical teaching, and they are an abomination in God’s sight. They worship the beast.
They are murderers, participating with those who put God’s children to death. They are sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God). They are liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed and who turn the truth about God into a lie).
