Good Morning Friends,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for
the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer
any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud
voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will
live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then
he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelation
21:1-5)
Revelation 20 was a picture of justice. Those
whose names were not written in the book of life were sent into the lake of
fire. Eternal punishment is what is reserved for those who do not follow God’s
commands and it represents what is deserved by them, too. Of course, that can
be said for all of us. Eternal punishment is what we all deserve. That would be
justice.
Revelation 21 is an amazing picture of grace!
Instead of getting what we deserve, those whose names are in the book of life,
those who follow Jesus, get what we do not deserve. We receive entrance into an
eternity so glorious that it is beyond description.
There will be no sea, which means that there
will be nothing to separate us from God, or from other people. We’ll be in the
very presence of God, Him dwelling with us, us dwelling with Him.
God Himself will wipe the tears from our
eyes. There will never again be anything that will cause tears of sorrow or of
pain. It will be an eternity of only joy and peace. The comforting will not be
assigned to any other heavenly being, not even the most powerful angel. God
Himself will wipe the tears from our eyes.
All those things that have brought sorrow to
us on earth: death, mourning, crying and pain, are gone. Those are the old
order of things and they will be replaced by a new order that contains nothing
of sorrow.
That’s heaven. That is what awaits us. We do not
deserve it -- and there’s no way to earn it. It is God’s marvelous gift to
those who receive His Son. I don’t want to miss it!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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