Monday, December 13, 2021

74. The Revelation: Heaven, Its Uniqueness, Its Residents, and the Outcasts (Revelation 21:1-8)

 


Its Uniqueness

"...and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 21:4–6a)

Life in heaven will be dramatically different from anything we have known in the present world. The first change from our earthly life is that “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (cf. 7:17; Isaiah 25:8). That does not mean that people who arrive in heaven will be weeping as they face the record of their sins. There is no such record, because “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). What it declares is the absence of anything to be sorry about—no sadness, no disappointment, no pain. There will be no tears of regret, tears over the death of loved ones, or tears for any other reason.

Another dramatic difference from the present world will be that in heaven “there will no longer be any death.” The greatest curse of human existence will be no more. “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Nor will there be any mourning, or crying in heaven. The grief and sorrow that produce mourning will not exist in heaven.

The perfect holiness and absence of sin that will characterize heaven will also mean that there will be no more pain. The glorified sin-free bodies believers will possess in heaven will not be subject to pain of any kind.

Life in heaven will be unique. All these changes indicate that the first things have passed away. Old human experience related to the original creation is gone forever, and with it all the mourning, suffering, disease, pain, and death that has characterized life since the fall. In that forever new creation, there will be no decay, no decline, and no waste. Summarizing those changes in a positive way, He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The One who sits on the throne is the same One “from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them” (20:11).

Overwhelmed by all that he had seen, John seems to have lost his concentration. The glorious, majestic One on the throne then said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true” (21:5). The words John was commanded by God to write are as faithful and true as the One revealing them to him (3:14; 19:11). The One who sits on the throne is qualified to declare the end of redemptive history, because He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12). God started history, He will end it, and all of it has unfolded according to His sovereign plan.

Its Residents

"I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." (Rev. 21:6b–7)

Two descriptive phrases reveal who will live in the new heaven and new earth. First, a citizen of heaven is described as “one who thirsts.” That phrase signifies those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). Those who will be redeemed and enter heaven are those who are dissatisfied with their hopeless, lost condition and crave God’s righteousness with every part of their being. To the soul of the psalmist who panted after God (Psalm 42:1) and to all earnest seekers, the promise is that their thirst will be satisfied. God “will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost” (cf. Isaiah 55:1–2).

Second, heaven belongs to “he who overcomes.” An overcomer, according to 1 John 5:4–5, is one who exercises saving faith in Christ.

The most wonderful promise to the one who overcomes and who thirsts for righteousness, is God’s promise “I will be his God.” Equally amazing is God’s promise that the one who overcomes “will be My son.” Even in this life it is the believer’s privilege to be the adopted son of the God of the universe (John 1:12; Romans 8:14–17). Only in heaven will that adoption be fully realized (Romans 8:23).

The Outcasts

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)

John concludes his overview of the new heaven and the new earth with a serious warning. He distinguishes those who will be excluded from participation in the blessings of heaven—all unforgiven and unredeemed sinners. The first group includes “the cowardly.” They fell away when their faith was challenged or opposed, because their faith was not genuine.

Because they are unbelieving, their disloyalty excludes them from heaven. They are also abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Those whose lives are characterized by such things give evidence that they are not saved and will never enter the heavenly city. “Their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” In contrast to the eternal bliss of the righteous in heaven, the wicked will suffer eternal torment in hell.