In God’s Presence - Eternally


Revelation 21:1-8
1Then 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. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5And 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.” 6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The full glory of God is now revealed to His people as He is seated on His throne and engages in the work of re-creating that which had been ruined by our sin. The sea that separated John from God in earlier descriptions no longer exists and we have full access to our Heavenly Father. God now is able to dwell with man as He always intended. There is no longer any reason for tears of sorrow or sadness for all that causes our tears will be gone. Finally, all who denied God, hated God, or remained unrepentant will be cast into the second death – hell.

This is fairly straightforward and is what we have been waiting to read since Revelation 1:1. And eternal existence in the presence of God is an overwhelming concept and at least for me, impossible to fully grasp with my finite brain. Being present to see God bring newness and sinlessness into being with the Word of His mouth is an intriguing idea and I personally am excited by the prospect of getting to see that! The prophet Isaiah also spoke of these exact same things over 700 years before John even existed.

Isaiah 65:17–25
17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
20No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.
24Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Taking these two passages together one cannot help but be filled with hope and joy. No matter what happens here on earth it is all going to be beautiful in the end because God and faithful and fulfill these promises to us. It’s all good news today.

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