Our Eternal Home

Transcript

GRM 1073
03/04/12
Our Eternal Home
Revelation 21:1-8
Gil Rugh

We're going to be talking about our eternal home. In our consideration of biblical prophecy we've looked through God's unfolding plan for the future. And we've been talking about the kingdom of God. And we noted there are two aspects to the kingdom of God. Why don't we talk about the one that we talked about last. Put up the summary, if you would, on the universal kingdom of God. Last week we talked about the universal kingdom of God and you have up here the characteristics of the universal kingdom of God. We noted that we took these from Alva J. McLain's book, The Greatness of the Kingdom, which is the finest work in print available on the kingdom of God. And these are characteristics of the kingdom that has always been in existence. So you'll note the first characteristic was that the universal kingdom exists without interruption through all time. So from day 1 of creation when God brought into existence those things separate from Himself, the kingdom of God has been in existence.

The second characteristic, the universal kingdom includes all that exists in time and space. God is God, He is sovereign, He rules over all. And that includes everything in all creation—angelic, human, nature. We saw God rules sovereignly over all.

The third characteristic of the universal kingdom, the divine control exercised in the universal kingdom is generally providential. But we don't want to misunderstand God is sovereignly in control. By providentially we mean He usually works through secondary means. We use the example of parting the Red Sea when He was bringing Israel out of Egypt. He caused a great wind to blow. He could have just had the Red Sea part and the land become dry, but He used what we would call a force of nature, wind. So generally God is operating. And we don't want to miss, God is still in control but everything going on. The world talks about the force of nature, the power of mother nature. But as we saw in Scripture, we see the hand of God at work in it all. There are times when God intervenes directly and supernaturally in the rule of His kingdom. He is free to do that, operating consistently with His character and the revelation He has given in His Word.

And the last point we noted and is very important, the universal kingdom always exists efficaciously, effectively regardless of the attitude of its subjects. You understand the will of God is being accomplished in the most godless, rebellious, openly sinful person. God is not causing his action, but He is using his actions for the accomplishing of His purposes. This is what guarantees that everything will be carried out according to His will. He prophesied that Judas the friend of Christ would betray Him with a kiss. He did not make Judas do that, but He is so sovereign in His rule that the sinful act of Judas was used by God in the accomplishing of His purpose to have His Son die to pay the penalty for sin.

That's the universal kingdom. Now we also have talked about the coming millennial kingdom. And would you put up the chart of the resurrections. Here is the thousand-year kingdom, I've called it the prophetic kingdom, the future kingdom. This is what is prophesied in the Old Testament, the coming earthly kingdom where Christ will reign. Now as we're going to see in our study today and next time as well, this is just the first phase in the eternal kingdom. This is important to keep straight in our minds. We had the eternal kingdom which goes all the way back here to the beginning of creation, God rules over all, all the time. We have unfolding prophetic events. Here is when God will establish a kingdom on earth. That is the first phase in an eternal kingdom. I say this is important because some people say, you say that you take the Bible literally, you take prophecy literally. But when the Old Testament prophesied an eternal kingdom for Israel, you say it's only a thousand years. So for you eternal is a thousand years, that's not eternal. No, you misunderstand. It is an eternal kingdom, the first phase of it is 1,000 years. As we're going to see in our next few studies, the rest of it goes on for eternity. The kingdom continues after the thousand years. The thousand years have just served a certain purpose in the plan of God.

Come to Matthew 7. Here Jesus during His earthly ministry is teaching in what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. And He says in verse 13, enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Now you'll note that Christ divides all humanity into two groups. The division is based upon the fact that there are two gates, and there are two roads and there are two destinies. Everyone enters through one of the two gates, everyone travels on one of the two roads, and everyone ends in one of two destinies. Those are the only choices. We like to complicate things.

I remember riding in a hearse years ago with a man who worked for the funeral home, he was driving the hearse. We were talking about eternal matters, where he would spend eternity, and how you get to heaven. And he said, I believe there are many ways to get to heaven. We're all traveling different roads, going to the same place. And I told him, as the driver that is a strange way to understand things. In other words you are telling me it wouldn't matter which direction I go or what road I take, I would end up at the right cemetery. Well, no. But he thought that was the way to heaven.

Could Jesus be any simpler? Two gates, two roads, two destinies. And you ought to realize the broad gate leads to a broad way leads to eternal destruction. And at the end of verse 13 Jesus said, there are many who enter that gate, travel that road, and that will end up in destruction. The narrow gate and the narrow road that leads to eternal life, he says at the end of verse 14, there are few who find it. If Jesus is correct, and He is, He is the Son of God, the most important thing to do in life is to be sure you've entered the right gate, traveled the right road and are going to end up at the right place.

Come to Revelation 20. Not too long ago we studied the book of Revelation and we noted, most important in studying the book of Revelation is to take it literally and understand it unfolds sequentially. The book of Revelation starts out, chapter 1, with John seeing a revelation. John is about right here, about 95 A.D. And he is penning the book of Revelation. He sees a vision of Christ, that is presently what he has experienced and has just taken place with him. Then in Revelation 2-3 he writes about the churches that are in existence. That will cover this period of time called the Church Age down to the Rapture. The church started in Acts 2, so John is living in the Church Age. He is giving material written to the churches in Revelation 2-3. In Revelation 4-5 we are transported to heaven, we see the scene in heaven here and John then, from Revelation 6-19, covers this seven-year period, you remember, which was talked about extensively in the Old Testament. What the book of Revelation does is give clear chronological sequence and order to what had been revealed before. These things in this period of time had been talked about in the Old Testament, but the order had not been clarified. Now we see a clear order here of these seven years, the return of Christ, a thousand-year kingdom. Not only is there a kingdom, but the first portion of it is a thousand years. We had never been told that in all the Bible up to Revelation 20. We had been told about a kingdom, we've been told the kingdom would be eternal, but we had not been told there would be a thousand-year phase of it at the beginning. That was told us in Revelation 20.

At the end of that thousand-year kingdom we saw a rebellion and a judgment, the Great White Throne judgment. We noted there, every unbeliever will appear and be sentenced to hell. So we read in Revelation 20:14, this is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. It's a place, it said in Revelation 20:10, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. That is the end for those who go through the broad gate, travel the broad way. They end in destruction, they end in eternal torment in hell. They don't cease to exist, but they are tormented day and night into the ages of the ages, forever and ever.

Now with Revelation 21 we open up, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth. We move on into what we sometimes call the eternal phase of the kingdom. This begins the eternal kingdom, but since it's marked off as a thousand years at the beginning, that's called the millennium. It served a purpose. It demonstrated that man's problem is not his environment, not the way he was raised, not the influence of the devil and the demons upon him, because a thousand years without the influence of the devil and demonic beings, with a perfect environment, a perfect King, Christ, ruling, at the end of the thousand years we saw that there was a number, Revelation 20:8, like the sand of the seashore. It can't be counted. They rebel against Christ and would rather have the devil as their king. So the real problem of man is his heart. They were sentenced to hell.

You open up Revelation 21, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth. So now we move into eternity for believers. We have already seen eternity for unbelievers here, they are cast into the fires of hell to be tormented forever and ever. People don't like to believe that because they think it is too terrible to believe. But it's a reality. We need to believe what God says. That's why it is so important that you enter the narrow gate, travel the narrow way so that you can be part of what is described in Revelation 21 and into Revelation 22.

We're going to look into the first part of Revelation 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea. A new heaven and a new earth. This is necessary because the former heavens and earth passed away. That was described back in Revelation 20 as well. Verse 11, I saw a Great White Throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away. There was no place found for them. There is no escaping coming judgment. It is appointed unto man once to die, after this comes the judgment. And all the inhabitants of heaven, all the inhabitants of earth here at this judgment, particularly those who had not trusted Christ appeared for their judging. And heaven and earth, talking about the heavens around the earth here, are to be replaced. So you have a new heaven and a new earth because the first had passed away.

This is not new material. We're getting the sequence of events. The new heavens and the new earth had been prophesied by Isaiah 700 years before Christ, but the actual order of how that will occur. Would the new heavens and the new earth occur before, at the beginning of the kingdom, the thousand-year reign? Come back to Isaiah 65. Isaiah prophesies the fact of a new heavens and a new earth, it is not until Revelation 21 that it gets put in its proper order for us. This doesn't change any prior revelation, but it gives greater clarity and adds additional information. It's called progressive revelation. Isaiah 65:17, for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. He goes on to talk about the kingdom. Some of what he talks about as he goes on here would be included in the millennium, but the order of events is unfolded in Revelation. We're ultimately going to arrive at a new heavens and a new earth to fully realize everything that God has promised to those who love Him. So that new heavens and new earth.

Come over to Isaiah 66:22, for just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me. So you see there will be a new heavens and new earth, and they will endure in the presence of God. Now note also another promise that will come up in a future study—so your offspring and your name will endure. We find out something here. We're going to move into a new heavens and a new earth, and Israel will continue. Those are the ones that God is addressing here. Your offspring and your name will endure. When we move into eternity, there will be Jews, Israelites. They will continue to exist as a nation. That's going to come out in Revelation 21 and into Revelation 22. So we begin to get some perspective on what God has planned.

Back up to Psalm 102. We can't do every verse on this but back up to Psalm 102. Here it doesn't speak directly about a new heavens and a new earth, but it talks about the removal of the old heavens and earth. Look at verse 25, of old you founded the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. Even they will perish, but you endure. And all of them will wear out like a garment, like clothing you will change them. They will be changed, but you are the same and your years will not come to an end. The children of your servants will continue and their descendants will be established before you. So the present heavens and earth are going to be replaced, but God is the eternal, unchanging God. He will never come to an end. And amazingly He promises in verse 28, the children of your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before you. There is something about God's eternal plan.

Come over to 2 Peter 3. And Peter is writing to Jewish believers who are part of the church. He is writing about their eternal destiny, he writes about the destruction that is going to take place of the present heavens and earth. And he talks about them passing away in verse 10. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. The earth and its works will be burned up because we're going to have a new heavens and new earth. And since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. We are not absorbed in the things of this life and this world, we realize they are transitory. Heaven and earth will pass away, my Word will not pass away, Jesus said in Matthew 24. Knowing that all these things are going to be burned up, I should pour my life into that which cannot endure?

Come down to verse 13, according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. We're going to see in Revelation 21, here was a kingdom of righteousness, but in this righteous kingdom there is unrighteousness because children are born and they are born with a sin nature. And they are born and raised and they have inner rebellion against Christ that comes out at the end. But when we get to the new heavens and the new earth, there will be nothing but righteousness there.

So Peter talked in verse 12, the heavens will be destroyed with burnings, the elements will melt with intense heat, but we are looking for new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells. Righteousness will be present in the thousand-year portion of the kingdom, but so will be unrighteousness because there will be unrighteous people. So this is the anticipation, not just of that thousand-year portion, but where are we going to be for eternity? What is the future? What will it look like? And the fullest, clearest description we have in all the Bible is found in Revelation 21 and into the opening verses of Revelation 22.

Come back to Revelation 21. It's called a new heavens and a new earth. There is a discussion, does this mean everything is gone and we just start totally over. That's one view. The other view is that the old earth that we live in and the heavens around it are going to experience a transformation. I tend toward that view because of the consuming with fire and it's called a new heavens and a new earth and there are things that connect it to the old. But it experiences significant changes. Either way we come to the same point, but I think it is important to see there is continuity. It doesn't just say He makes something totally new, and often we think that about heaven, we just don't know anything about it, we just don't know anything about eternity. We do. We know a significant amount. More than a whole chapter of the Bible is descriptive plus additional information.

So we have a new heaven and a new earth, the heavens around the earth are made new and the earth itself. One characteristic mentioned about the new earth, is has no sea. Now this causes commentators to come up with all kinds of ideas, but the fact is we have no idea why there is no sea. We can speculate maybe because of this or this, but there will be no sea. So if you thought you were going to have your own oceanliner in eternity, scratch that because there will be no place to float it. It is going to be without sea. I can't tell you why. In the plan of God the present earth has had seas from the beginning. The water above was divided from the water below and there is a firmament and all this, and we had water, but we can have water here, we will have water, but we won't have any sea. We know that.

All right. Another characteristic, verse 2, I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem. Now this is a New Jerusalem, but it is connected to the old. One, by name, it is called Jerusalem, New Jerusalem. That connects it to the old. Furthermore it is called the holy city and Jerusalem is called the holy city. It's called that today. But Isaiah 52:1 refers to Jerusalem as the holy city. Matthew 4:5 refers to Jerusalem as the holy city. Matthew 27:53 refers to the holy city, referring to Jerusalem. So there is a connection to the past. It's the holy city. Jerusalem is to be the holy city, it was the city that God established as the center of the dealing with His people. It was to belong to Him. Now we will have the New Jerusalem which will be truly a holy city, separated in every way from all defilement and all sin.

This is a promise we have as believers in the church today. This is what Jesus Christ says, this is the place that you and I will live for eternity. We talk about going to heaven. When we die, we go to heaven, but ultimately our residence is going to be the New Jerusalem. Now it may be that's our residence in heaven until this point when it comes down to earth.

Come back to Revelation 3. Now here is a promise to one of the seven churches. Now we studied Revelation not too long ago and the seven churches selected by Christ and the message to them is all seven churches' characteristics fit the church down to today. The message to the churches, the messages to us; the promise to the churches, promises to us. And to the church at Philadelphia Christ says in Revelation 3:12, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will not go out form it anymore. And I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God and my new names. You see the name of the New Jerusalem written on use because that's where we belong. We're being identified as residents of the city of God, it's the city of my God because this is the place where God will dwell. So in a real sense this become heaven because heaven is the place where God manifests His presence for His creation. Before there was a creation there needed to be no heaven. God is omnipresent—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons of the triune God. They are omnipresent, present everywhere all the time. But heaven is the place where God manifests His presence for His creation, the angels, us human beings.

So here we're told it's the city of my God, the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God. That's what we're reading in Revelation 21. When will it come down out of heaven from my God? Now we know. It will come down out of heaven from God after the first thousand years. And after all sin and sinners have been removed. And it will reside on the new earth. So this is very important to me, I want to know it well enough and think about it. This is where I'm going to spend eternity, this is where I will dwell in a hundred billion years. The place I live now, I'm thankful for it, glad to have a home. It's nothing. There is no comparison.

Come back to Revelation 21. It's coming down out of heaven from God. That would indicate that it is present before it comes to earth. It doesn't say on the new earth God made the New Jerusalem. But it exists in heaven. It may be, some connect this to John 14 where Jesus says, in My Father's house are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you. It may be that that's the place God has prepared for us and there are certain things that would fit here, as we are going to see. The New Jerusalem being the dwelling place of God and we're going to see prior in Revelation it is going to be identified as the dwelling place of God in heaven. So I think there is reason to make the connection.

At any rate at this point it is coming down out of heaven from God. It is made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. That's why we call this the bride's city, the New Jerusalem. It is pictured as a bride, it looks with the splendor and beauty. You notice when you go to a wedding, does anybody every talk about how great the groom looked? No, he's just there in the same black suit or white coat that everybody else wears. But the bride, did you see how she looked? Did you see her dress? It pictures beauty, the attractiveness.

And, back up to Revelation 19:7. Here we were ready for the Second Coming of Christ to earth. And remember the church was raptured before the seven-year tribulation, the marriage of the Lamb took place and now we are returning for the marriage supper of the Lamb and the celebration. And in Revelation 19:7, let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, or has occurred. And His bride, now here the word is wife and not bride as we just read about the New Jerusalem but we'll make the connection. His ride his wife has made herself ready. I think the connection with the church as the bride of Christ, the wife of Christ and the New Jerusalem is because the church as the wife of Christ, the bride of Christ has the place of special honor and special glory.

Come back to Revelation 21. Look down in verse 9. There is an angel that's going to come and explain the details of the New Jerusalem. We won't get into those in this study, but our next study. And at the end of verse 9 he says, come here. I will show you the bride, that's the same word as we had in verse 2, as a bride adorned for her husband, the wife of the Lamb. And that's the word we had translated bride back in Revelation 19:7, His bride, literally His wife has made herself ready to be presented openly at the marriage supper. Here the New Jerusalem, He carried me away, verse 10, to show me the holy city. Well, the city itself is called the bride, the wife of the Lamb because this is the dwelling place. Remember we read in Revelation 3, the promise to the church at Philadelphia? This is where you will dwell, with Me. So it's adorned as a bride. We're not the only ones going to be in the New Jerusalem. But from our connection and identification here we obviously have. How can we be any closer? There will be a lot of people at the wedding, but the bride has the place of greatest significance because of her relation to the groom. And here, of course, Christ is the focal point of all. But by our belonging to Him in this special relationship, our place in this city is given priority.

So also in Revelation 22:17, you have the Spirit and the bride say, come. We are joined with the Spirit in the ministry today of inviting people to Christ as the church carrying out the ministry God has given us. We'll say more about that as we move on here.

Come back to Revelation 21:3, and I hear a loud voice from the throne, and here is something unique. Here we have God Himself speaking from His throne in heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men. That's what it means with the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to settle on the new earth. What was the tabernacle? That connects it back again to something we can identify with. The tabernacle in the Old Testament with Moses, the children of Israel, because it was the place where God's presence was manifested among His people. Later the temple would be rebuilt and you have the temple with the Holy of Holies, the place where God's presence is manifested. So here the tabernacle of God where God manifests His presence. As Solomon said when he dedicated the temple and its magnificence that he dedicated to God, there is no temple that can be built to contain Him. I mean, He is the God who is present everywhere. But this is the place where God will manifest His presence among His people.

So now the tabernacle of God is among men. That means He will dwell among them. They shall be His people and He, God, Himself will be among them. This remarkable. The New Jerusalem, we're going to dwell, live permanently in the presence of the eternal God.

They shall be His people, God Himself shall be among them. Now earlier in Revelation, this tabernacle, you see the tabernacle of God is among men. Come back to Revelation 13. Now remember where we are in Revelation 13, we are in events associated with the beast and his followers during that seven years before the return of Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. So it will be a thousand years, then lead into eternity. And so verse 6 says, this beast as he is called, the leader of the world at this time, during that seven years, he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven. So you see the tabernacle of God and the dwelling place of the people of God who have died, the martyrs we saw earlier in Revelation, is the presence of God. The tabernacle of God, His presence is in heaven. That's what makes it heaven. Remember when Moses was given the instructions for that earthly tabernacle, it was the pattern given to him from heaven. We get some glimpse of what we are talking about.

Come over to Revelation 15:5, after these things I looked and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened. Now the tabernacle of testimony, remember in the Holy of Holies, that inner sanctuary, that cube, and that becomes important because that's what the New Jerusalem is going to be described as and greatly expanded dimensions, but it will be a cube in dimension just like the Holy of Holies was in the tabernacle, then in the temple. And in that Holy of Holies there was the ark of the covenant, a small chest. And in that chest, one of the things that was there were the Ten Commandments. And so we have the tabernacle of the testimony, a record of God speaking to Israel. Where is it? It is in heaven. So now when you see the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, really you have a removal of the very presence of God and His tabernacle which is the place of the manifestation of His presence in the ultimate sense among His creation removed to earth.

Come back to Ezekiel, just to connect this to the Old Testament, and we're going to Ezekiel 37:27. My dwelling place also will be with them. I will be their God and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when My sanctuary is in their midst forever. Now this is why again it is important that we appreciate what Revelation brings. It adds material to what has been spoken before, but it helps in a great way to put things in order. Because some of what Ezekiel has just written about, about the kingdom will be fulfilled in the thousand years. David will be reigning, according to verse 24. But that goes on forever and you'll note, important to pick up here, Israel is present and the nations are present. Verse 28, the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when My sanctuary is in their midst forever. That's not just a thousand years. The sanctuary of God will come, there will be a millennial temple in the thousand-year portion of the kingdom described by Ezekiel. But then there will be a new heavens and a new earth, that doesn't mean the kingdom is over and forever only meant a thousand years.

So we come to the book of Revelation and we get a fuller perspective, a clearer perspective. And we realize now God has a thousand-year portion of this kingdom, the first thousand years marked off for a special purpose. And there will be a temple, there will be a Jerusalem, there will be a king, David will reign, the Messiah will reign. But we're talking about an eternal presence of the sanctuary of God. And He'll be their God, they'll be His people. And the nations will know forever in their midst. That moves us to Revelation 21. And things begin to come together in a clearer way, not just I know everything that is going to happen and then there will be a kingdom. And then we just leap off into eternity and nobody knows what that will be like. Nobody knows who hasn't read Revelation 21-22 because you could pick up portions of it in the prophets, but how it all would fit together. We know a new heavens and a new earth, but fitting it all together awaits later revelation.

Now that's the tragedy of people thinking the book of Revelation is something too hard to understand when God pronounced special blessings on those who read and heed the book of Revelation. He speaks to be understood and something so beautiful missed, even by believers.

Come back to Revelation 21. This sounds like what we just read in Ezekiel 37, Revelation 21:3, they shall be His people and God will be among them. That's just what Ezekiel said. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death, there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. I love that verse, I have it highlighted in my Bible. You ought to love it. I also have the preceding verse. In fact, I had to go through and decide which verses won't I highlight in Revelation 21, and I'm sure you've had the same problem. Everything associated in the negative way, the bad way, the sorrowful way is gone. Those were associated with the old earth. Put the chart back up. Even here there will be suffering and death. Remember a cursed person will die at a hundred years of age. So that can happen. Sin hasn't been totally removed here, it has been suppressed by the powerful presence of Christ and the immediate judgment He brings. But it hasn't been removed. But here now when we remove all unbelievers and they are placed in hell, now as we move in here everything associated with sin is gone. There will be nothing to bring us sorrow, nothing to bring us pain. There will be no death. All these kinds of things are gone.

Now it doesn't say everything is gone, so I don't have any way to connect this. I was visiting with a person this week and he said, I don't take Revelation 21-22 literally. I just don't think you can make sense of it. It has to be just a figure of how wonderful things will be in eternity. Well, God went to a lot of trouble. Why didn't He just say, things will be wonderful in eternity. Even so come, Lord Jesus. And end. I mean, God doesn't just look to fill up pages. He is very selective what He says and here He is telling us what will be gone. I can't imagine, never a pain. I'm getting older. As marvelous as my body looks, it's breaking down. You know, it happens to all of us. I'm almost 70, do you know any 70-year-olds playing in the National Football League? I know, we have the nonsense that 70 is the new 50. That's a sign the mind is going. Seventy is 70. Some people are in better health at 70, some people are in not as good health at 70, but at 70 I ain't 50. I'm not even 60. Sometimes Marilyn and I will talk, what's happened to us? I'm glad it's us because if she still looked like she did at 20, we'd be having difficulty. And if she still had the energy of 20, I don't know what she'd be doing because it wouldn't be with me. At any rate, all these things are gone. So all the things associated with sin, gone.

Can I understand it? I don't know how it will all work, but I believe God. And you know what? He knows how amazing it is to be told these things because read the next verse. And He who sits on the throne, you don't get any more authoritative than that. God Himself speaks. He said, behold, I am making all things new. I mean, this will be a new world. Write, for these words are faithful and true. I may not understand every detail, but it boggles my mind how it could be. We go on for eternity. And the indication before we're done in looking in these chapters is that there will be people in their physical bodies who will live for eternity and never have any physical suffering, never any illness, never any death, never any sorrow, never any pain. But you can mark it down as true because God said, these words are faithful and true. Psalm 119:89 says, forever oh Lord, your Word is settled in heaven will be in complete obedience on earth. I mean, marvelous.

Come back to Revelation 19:9, he said to me, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said to me, these are true words of God. Come over to Revelation 22:6, and he said to me, these words are faithful and true. I believe in verbal inspiration of Scripture. He doesn't say, these ideas are true. These words are true. I want to hang on every word that God has to say to me and to say about what He has prepared for me for all eternity. These words are faithful and true.

Come back to Revelation 21:6, then he said to me, it is done. I love that. It is done. What do you mean it is done? Is the chart still up? We're floating along here someplace, the Rapture hasn't even occurred. This covers Revelation 6-19 here. We haven't even gotten to here to start Revelation 6-19. All that was covered in those chapters, and he says, it is done. We haven't gotten to the Second Coming to earth, we haven't had the thousand years, we haven't had the Great White Throne. Now he tells me about the eternal state and he says, it is done. Remember we talk about the prophetic past often in the Old Testament—when the prophets wrote about a future event, they wrote about it in the past tense. Why? When God says it, it is done. Doesn't matter it it's a thousand years away from happening, it's done, it's settled. There is no more chance that it won't happen than the events of yesterday won't happen. They already did. A great verse, you ought to hand onto it. Any time you have a doubt, just remember, it is done. It hasn't all been accomplished yet, but it's done.

It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. That's why it is done. The alpha and the omega, the first letter and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Another way to say it is I am the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. I mean, there is nothing before Him, there is nothing after Him. So He is sovereign over everything. So He will see it happen, He will bring it about.

Then a great promise, a great promise at this stage. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Reminder that those who are going to inherit these things, those who are going to dwell for eternity in the presence of God have come there at no cost to themselves. No cost. It is free. Where does this come from?

Come back to Isaiah 55:1, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come. Come, buy, eat, buy wine, milk without money, without cost. Come down to verse 6, seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon Him while He is near. That's where we pick up this statement. Come to the New Testament to John 4. In John 4 we have the familiar account of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. And there at the well where they draw water, Jesus asks for a drink and they enter into a discussion about water. And we'll pick up with verse 13, Jesus answered and said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again at this well in Samaria. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Isn't it amazing? God invites us to come and partake of the water of life at no cost. I mean, you would think Jesus must have made a mistake. The way to life is narrow, the gate is narrow and few there are that find it. Why? You can have eternal life for free because God has paid the price with the death of His Son. That's the point.

Come back to Revelation 21. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. That invitation is given again in Revelation 22:17, let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. If you want to, you're welcome.

Look at the next verse in Revelation 21, verse 7. He who overcomes will inherit these things. And I will be his God and he will be My son. Oh my goodness, this is our inheritance, the inheritance we laid up where moth and rust and thieves, nothing touches it, nothing destroys it, nothing depreciates it. The overcomer will inherit these things. I will be his God, he will be My son. God belongs to me because I belong to Him. He belongs to me in the sense He is my God. I am His son, I inherit, I am the heir and co-heir with Christ, as Paul wrote to the Romans.

Back up to 1 John 5:4, whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? You see, you become an overcomer, you have the victory over the world by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. And that's how you partake of the water of life, you come to place your faith in Him, who He is and what He has done. That makes you a partaker of life. Now you belong to God, you are an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ.

Back in Revelation 21:8, and we have to conclude. 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. We saw that back in Revelation 20:10, they will be tormented day and night into the ages of the ages. Verse 14, this is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. You see two gates, two ways, two destinies. The New Jerusalem in the presence of God and the wonder of all He has provided as an inheritance for those who belong to Him. But not everybody is going there. In fact Jesus said, most people are not. There are few that find the way to life, there are many going through the broad gate and down the broad way. Many religious people, many good people, many “nice” people, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is only one way of salvation. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. It's not because God hasn't spoken clearly, He has spoken so clearly people don't want to hear it, they want to close their ears, they what to shut their eyes. Don't tell me that, I don't want to hear that. Because they don't want to believe.

And isn't it amazing how gracious God is to remind us of these things. The New Jerusalem will be an exclusive place, it will be only for those who have entered into life through faith in Jesus Christ. They have become overcomers, not because they are better, more powerful, more important, more significant. But simply because they have chosen to take for themselves that which is free, life, by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

He's going to go on to describe in detail this New Jerusalem, and it is quite a place. We'll look at that next time.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for you grace. Thank you for the revelation that you have given of yourself, of your purposes, your plans and above all of your salvation. It is amazing that you should offer to all the water of life at no cost, that you should give the invitation to come and partake at no cost because your Son has paid in full the penalty for sin. Lord, I pray for each one gathered here, that we might be settled and sure that we have indeed entered the narrow gate and are traveling the narrow road that leads to life. Thank you for your grace, thank you for what you have provided for all those that come to salvation in Jesus Christ. We give you praise in His name, amen.