Last 5 Days
He makes all things new
1 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. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 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. 4 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.”
5 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.”
6 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. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 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.”
Before chapter 21, the world faced the judgement of the seven seals, seven horns and the seven bowls, and it was in total chaos. The world order and every living things were threatened to live under despair and pain, as the great battle broke out. Finally, God in His time put the battle to a stop and all who were against God were judged and thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur.
It was only after the fight is over, that the new chapter begins. John sees the wondrous vision of a new heaven and a new earth. The previous heaven and earth has passed away and there was no more sea. (v1)
Dear brothers and sisters, have you ever wondered what the newness actually means? During every Chinese New Year, we take time to do a spring cleaning of our home, we buy new clothes and shoes, and we hope that the removal of the old will bring us new fortunes and new prospects in our family, work and studies. However, every new thing will soon be worn out, and every “new” thing will soon become “old”. In the same light, does that mean that this heaven and earth is new because no one has lived in there before. When the people of God move in and stay for three to five years, will it one day pass on to become old again? Absolutely not!
Verses 3 and 4 tells us that the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with 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. This, is the meaning of the “newness” that John has seen.
It is not new because it has not been lived in. It is new because God will be among His people. Wherever God is among His people, that place is heaven. Heaven is not a matter of a location, the key to being in heaven is that God must be with us. Therefore, the key question should not be if the heaven is above or below (though many times, we assume to ascend to heaven). The key question must be is God with us? This has been so ever since the beginning of time in the garden of Eden. It was heaven in the garden, because God walked with Adam and Eve without sin.
The purpose of the gospel is to re-established this relationship between God and man, where God can be Our Father and we can be His children. Then in the new heaven and the new earth, God’s tabernacle can dwell among us. There, there will be newness! God will wipe away our tears. No more crying, no more sorrow and no more death! This newness is eternal because God is eternal and thus our joy is eternally complete.
Dear brothers and sisters, the new heaven and earth is where Christ is. Do you have Christ in your life? Do you have a relationship with Him? If you do, rejoice and take hope that you will one day, see God’s tabernacle come and dwell among you. What a wonderful sight that will be!