Monday, December 28 –
We are near the end of our
readings – three more to go. The book of
Revelation is how we are finishing our reading thru the New Testament in a
year, and this morning we continue in Revelation 20:11 – 21:8. Please read the passage first, and then come
back that we might look at it again.
Hell is not a topic we often think about, nor want to. There are some who teach that the lost who
are thrown into the lake of fire, hell, will be annihilated, burnt up – that
certainly is possible. Others teach that
only Satan, the Beast, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. What John now saw is the resurrection of all
who had not put their faith in Christ.
“Then I saw a great white
throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away,
and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small,
standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened,
which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the
books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who
were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were
judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and
Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of
fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he
was thrown into the lake of fire” (20:11-15).
John had begun this with what
he “saw”. John sees the second
resurrection of the dead – those who had not believed, the lost. All of this takes place before “the great
white throne and Him who sat upon it”.
God brings all before him to give true judgment and justice. When John writes, “the earth and sky flee
from his presence, and no place was found for them” (20:11), he is speaking
that nothing is hidden, and there is no place for someone to flee from Him – “the
dead come before the throne, and books are opened” (20:12). The “book of life” is God’s record of
those who have trusted in Christ alone (Luke 20:20; Philippians 4:3; Hebrews
12:23). Jesus said, “no one can come
to the Father except by me”. The
saved do not come in their own righteousness, but in the righteousness of
Christ –
“yet we know that a person is
not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also
have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and
not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified”
(Galatians 2:16).
“But now the righteousness of
God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets
bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for
all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:21-24).
No one whose name is written in
the “book of life”, comes to God in their own works, or their own
righteousness. They come redeemed by the
“blood of the lamb” (1 Peter 2:18-19; Ephesians 1:7). What John “saw” had to do with those who were
not written in the “book of life” – the unsaved lost. The “books
are opened” because those not in the book of life face God’s justice. The dead are judged by the books – the Law,
the Scripture, the record of their own living.
Hell, according to the Scriptures is real, and those who enter it do so
because they would not come to Christ by faith in Him. No one in Scripture taught more about hell
than Jesus. Hell witnesses the love and
justice of God together. It magnifies
the glory and holiness of God, as well as His hatred for sin. Choosing to not believe something that is
real does not change its reality. Jesus
said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18).
Now John’s vision shifts again. The creation is cleansed and now John sees
the world made new. The “new heaven and
new earth” reminds us of the Hope we have in Christ’s redemption. All of the ruin of the Fall is now erased –
“Then 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. And I 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 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. He 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” (21:1-4).
God’s dwelling is now with his
redeemed and the word is uncontaminated by sin.
Before this, God’s dwelling was always shrouded behind a veil in the
sanctuary and temple because of the sinfulness of humanity. Now, all sin is gone, and we are remade in
the image of Christ –
“Beloved, we are God’s children
now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears
we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
The effects of sin are no
longer present which is why “every tear is wiped away”, for there is no
death, no mourning over loved ones dying, no crying, no pain, all of the old
consequences of sin are removed.
“And 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.” And 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.
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and
he will be my son. But 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” (21:5-8).
John hears God speak into the
renewed creation, “making all things new”. Our world is filled with news every day of
tragedy, disease, corruption, and more, but it will all be gone as God speaks
of a renewed creation. Can we believe
it? John wants to make sure we know that
God said: “the words are trustworthy and true.” Then, in almost a way that is like a
benediction, John hears the invitation “to the thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without payment…I will be his God and he will be my
son.” Who is it that has this
reassurance? “The one who conquers
will have this heritage”. John had
heard this before and wrote it down in his first letter – “For everyone who
has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has
overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except
the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5).
God is the author and sovereign
Lord of all time and eternity. He was there “in the beginning” and will be
there “in the end”. He is the “alpha”
(the letter A), and the “omega” (the last letter of the alphabet) – the first
and the last. God is not controlled by
the circumstances of history – he controls them. The final warning is written for our sake.
They remind us to think and act with obedience to God. The list of those that do not remind us of
who is it that will suffer the judgment and justice of God. The new creation changes everything and takes
away the sources of evil that affect our lives, but we are not yet there. Now we face the reality of living in a world
that is still sinful, and we have to make the right choices. Now we are called to be “overcomers”.
After the great Chicago fire of
1871, evangelist Dwight L. Moody went back to survey the ruins of his house. A
friend came by and said to Moody, "I hear you lost everything." "Well,"
said Moody, "you understood wrong. I have a good deal more left than I
lost." "What do you mean?" the inquisitive friend asked. "I
didn't know you were that rich." Moody then opened his Bible and read to
him Revelation 21:7—"He that overcomes will inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he will be my son."
I’ll ask it again – do you have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins because you have put your faith in Christ
alone? I pray you do.
Peace
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