This reminds me of the story of doubting Thomas who would not believe that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead unless he saw him for himself and put his own hand in his side. After being given the opportunity, Thomas proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”  And Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:28-29)  Blessed are all those who choose Christ now, blessed are all those who love Christ now who have never laid eyes upon him, only their hearts.

The Lord Himself calls us blessed. We have never laid eyes on Jesus but we love him because of his words and because of his ways. Blessed are those who know Christ now. We know him because of his words and because of his ways. If a false Shepherd were to come to us using Jesus’ name and tell his that He is the Christ, even though we have never seen the face of Jesus we would know that it is not our Beloved Shepherd but an antichrist because we know our Lord’s heart. We know what he would never do, we know what he would never say, and we know what his will his and what his heart is all about because of his revealed word to us. He has not hidden himself from us as we oftentimes hide our true selves from one another. We can live closely with someone, work with them side by side, see them every day and still we say we never knew them. Not so with knowing God. God does not hide himself from those who seek to know Him.  God may hide his face but he reveals to us his heart. Which would you rather have? An idol that you can see but which you cannot know that has no heart or a God you cannot see but you know because he has revealed his heart to you through his words and his ways?

God has shown himself to each and every one of us in this room who has accepted Jesus Christ as her savior. Not just once but daily, moment by moment, we live a life engulfed in the very heart of God growing in true knowledge of him every day through his revelations of himself in the Holy Spirit. We can say we know him. Though the world does not know Christ and cannot see Christ we see him clearly and know God the Father because of him.

In John 18 as Jesus is telling his disciples that in his Father’s House there are many mansions and that he is going to prepare a place for them. He also promises them in verse18 that he would not leave them as orphans. He would come to them and says in verse 19:

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me…whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 18-18-21)

I know that this promise has held true for me. I have often prayed for Jesus to keep this promise I found in these verses to show himself to me and he has in some mighty marvelous ways. By the grace of God, you and I already live in His presence. We don’t need to see him to know that He is here in our midst and to enjoy him. But won’t it be nice when our eyes will behold his face? Won’t it be marvelous when our eyes see the form and the face that our hearts have long known?

During this time period known as the Millennium, the entire world will see Jesus Christ’s face and many will love him and many will not because they do not love his heart, they do not love his righteous judgments and ways but see them as a hindrance to their own will and the fulfillment of their hearts desires. It is not Jesus their hearts want. It is these who Satan will be allowed to gather up from the four corners of the earth and bring them before Christ at the very end where they and Satan will ultimately be destroyed in that final battle.

Then there is the Great White Throne Judgment which we studied last week when all the dead will rise, small and great and stand before the throne as the books are opened. Everyone will be judged by according to what they had done in this life. Anyone’s who name was not found written in the book of life, were thrown into the lake of fire, known as the second death. (Rev. 20:12-15) These are those who did not love God, but loved idols and their own lives.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25)

After all this, what will become of those who love God now, who have given up their life now to live for God  and for Jesus Christ, those whose names are found written in the book of life?  In Revelation 21-22 we are given a small keyhole glimpse into this new life we will have.  A small taste that is intended to make us thirst for a greater taste, the reality of this new world.

1 Cor. 2:9 says:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

I was listening to an audio book this week called the Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. In this book David talks about his grandfather’s new method of evangelism. He calls it the lamb chop method of evangelism. His grandfathers explains it by saying,

“You win people over just like you win over a dog. You see a dog passing down the street with an old bone in his mouth. You don’t grab the bone from him and tell him it’s not good for him. He’ll growl at you because it’s all he has. But you throw a big fat lamb chop down in front of him and he’s going to drop that bone and pick up the lamb chop….instead of going around grabbing bones from people….I’m going to throw them lamb chops. I’m going to tell them about new beginnings.”

I love this illustration. As we struggle with convincing people to lay down their lives now that they love so much in order to follow Christ, it is essential that they see the pearl in the field, the treasure of great value that enables them to joyfully sell all they have to follow Jesus Christ. That’s what I pray this lesson will be tonight as we talk about the new life Christ gives us, the new heaven and the new earth. I pray that we will all see it as a lamb chop and anything that we are trying to hold on to in our lives that his spirit is convicting us that is against his will, will suddenly appear non-appealing in comparison and will be easy to drop what we once loved. I pray that our appetites for this world and the things of this world will be suddenly and completely ruined. I know the Lord can do it in an instant because he did it in me. I pray that anyone in this room tonight who has not had their lives ruined by the love of God would be ruined tonight by the love of God, becoming completely undone.

Our hearts can’t imagine what God has prepared for those who love him.  Augustine said it well, “If these are the pleasures afforded to sinful men, what does God have in store for those whose hearts are his?”

If you look at the earth now and all the great pleasures that God in his great love and grace has given us, the abundant fruits, the abundant beauty, the abundant stars, the abundant greenery and leaves, the abundant seas, the abundant creation of animals, the abundant mystery to marvel at, how great must be the abundance that he has stored up for those who love him? He who owns all power, all of space, where will He place us?

 A New Heaven and a New Earth

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

John says he saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” I think the word new in this verse is a very heavy word. How else can John describe what he is seeing but to say it is new?  He recognizes that it is the heaven and the earth that he sees but they are both “new.”

There are two Greek words that are commonly used for the word new. The Greek word kainos which is used here and the Greek word neos. The Greek word kainos primarily means recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn and can also mean in a secondary manner something that is new in the sense that it is of a new kind; unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of. Whereas the Greek word neos for new means recently born, youthful, young.

In Matthew 9:17 both words for new are used demonstrating further the difference of their meaning.

Neither is new (neos) wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new (neos) wine is put into fresh (kainos) wineskins, and so both are preserved.

The meaning here is that the young, recently created wine is put into fresh, unused new wine skins. The new wineskins may not have been recently made, like the wine but they are new in the sense that they have never been used. They are fresh. They are unworn and unused.

The new heaven and the new earth that John sees are new in the sense that they are fresh, unused, unworn.  The emphasis is not on their age on being recently created and young but on their freshness, their purity, they are not stale or deteriorated like the first heaven and the first earth which John says has passed away. It is no more.

I think we all love and appreciate new things. I like old things, antiques and novelties but there is something about buying something brand new, never owned before, never used before. It’s in perfect condition with no flaws when it is new. It is a state that never lasts long as everything in this world gets broken in, broken down, used and slowly ages and deteriorates over time and eventually breaks and dies and that is because of sin.

All you have to do is look around you, even in this room; everything in this room was at one time new, the chairs, the hymnbooks, the carpet, the paint.  The clothes we wear, the purses we carry, the cars we bought, the houses we bought; they were all at one time new, if not when we bought them, then when the original owner bought them, they were new.  Now they show all the effects of the world we live in being worn down and worn out, no matter how careful we try to take care of them.  If they were created in this world, then the laws of this world rules over them, which is the law of sin and death and they deteriorate until one day all that we treasure will land in some ones junkyard or landfill someplace. That is the destination of all material goods that we value so much.

The bible tells us that even creation itself faces the law of sin and death and groans to be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:19-25)

As children of God, we have been brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)  This is the touch of God and the Spirit of God that brings life to our dead lives and to our dead bodies.  The bible tells us that if we do not know Christ we are dead in our sins already. We are spiritually dead. We are dead to God. Our ultimate end is death, the second death in the lake of fire which is such a reality that we are as good as dead already. All our works are dead and futile, even the best of them and all that we do often ends in dead ends. It’s futile. This earth is full of the walking dead, who have no hope apart from Christ.

This is the law of sin and death that operates in all creation, material things, living things and in us human beings. We are dying the moment we are born. We have a death sentence. We have no hope of ever being new again and have no hope of escaping the law of deterioration.  Science and health gurus try, proper diets, proper exercise, the best medical care, anti-aging cream galore but the truth is we cannot escape death; our bodies cannot escape being used and worn out. We can extend our lives somewhat by taking proper care of our bodies, just like we can extend the life of our car by proper maintenance but we can only extend them so long and then they take their natural course and it’s over.

Sin decays and destroys and leads to death, but God makes all things new, that is the signature of God, the touch of God that He gives life, abundant life, renewed life to all those who are willing to trade their dying, decaying life for the eternal life of Jesus. God gives us a new life and it’s not just in the future but it starts now.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)

There is something about this word “new” that excited and humbled me this week as I meditated on this truth that God makes all things new.  There are some who say that the new heaven and the new earth are this current heaven and this current earth renewed, in such a new state that they are new in essence and different than before. God can certainly do this because he has done this in us. I am a new creation. I am a new person. If you would look at the old me of 10-15 years ago and look at the new me as of today, you wouldn’t recognize me. I wouldn’t recognize me. Outwardly, I am probably the same. I haven’t changed my hairstyle in over 20 years. I’ve gained probably about 10-15lbs in weight; I have a lot more gray hairs and some signs of the law of deterioration beginning to take effect on my body that I cannot escape.  Outwardly I am somewhat the same, although slowly wasting away but it’s inwardly that I am a completely new person since Jesus Christ came into my life.

When I look back and see the difference Jesus has made in my life and the new person I am because of him and his love, I just want to cry, so great is the difference. I may be the only person besides him who sees it and knows what he has done and how much he has redeemed me and continues to redeem me but I am humbled by it.

This just doesn’t happen and is a miracle. You can’t leave something alone and expect it to get newer and newer and newer. It deteriorates when left alone. Dust gathers, rust sets in. People come out of prison after sitting still the same as they went in unless something miraculous takes place. Look at Satan who was locked up for a thousand years and came out the same if not worse and madder then when he went in to the abyss. Yet I am being made new inside day by day and so are you.

This is our position as children of God; we have been brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new (kainos) creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new (kainos)has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)

These words for “new” and ‘passed away” in 2 Cor. 5:17 are the same words as in Revelation 1. We are a new creation, and one day we will receive new, glorified bodies. Isn’t that something to look forward to?

Very soon the world and heavens will be a new creation. Like our old selves, before it can become new, it will have to be destroyed first and how God brings that about, how he causes it to pass away is still bit of a mystery although we have some ideas on how it might happen. 1 Peter tells us that this earth and the heavens are being reserved to be destroyed by fire.  The earth was destroyed once by water but God tells us the next time it is destroyed by fire.

See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more. (Isa. 65:17-19)

“But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly…… ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.  (2 Peter 3:5-7, 10-13)

There are a lot of things that are going to be different about the new heavens and the new earth. The absence of sin and deterioration is only one vital difference.  People will no longer deteriorate.  Creation will no longer deteriorate. Death will not exist. Unlike during the Millennium Period where death and sin still existed because of the bondage to corruption and decay in the first heaven and earth and the human depravity of man, these conditions will no longer exist in the new heaven and earth and sin will gain no entrance.

and there was no longer any sea.

Here there is significant absence that is mentioned. It says there will be no more sea. There is some debate over whether this is to be interpreted metaphorical or literally. It is hard to imagine a world where no sea exists, especially when we live in a world that was formed out of water and by water. (2 Peter 3:5) Three quarters of our world is water. 50-65% of our bodies is water.  It appears that water may not an essential element in the New Heaven and the New Earth as it is to us now. We know there is water because there is the river of the water of life that flows out from the midst of the throne. So it is not a world without water. In this life we are dependent upon water for life. In this world it is said you can only go 3 days without water, although some have made it 6-8 days. In the next world we will not be dependent upon water for life and we will have no need to thirst again.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things. (Psa. 107:8-9)

 Who knows the essential elements of the New Heaven and the New Earth will be. Who knows if the physical laws of this world will apply to the laws of the new heaven and new earth?  The new heaven and earth cannot be described by what it has but only by what is absent. For much of what it will have, has not entered into our minds or imagination, without seeing we would not understand. It is much like John trying to describe to us what heaven looks like. He is at a loss because he has no comparisons, no pictures, no words or language to describe the beauty that he sees. He does the best that he can with comparisons and similes but they do not do it justice. It’s the same problem with the new heavens and the new earth, John is handicapped in his ability to describe what he sees. He can only describe, using the negative of what he does not see, what is not there. Sin is not there. The sea is not there. Tears are not there. Death is not there. Mourning and crying are not there. Pain is not there.  The cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars are not there. It’s interesting that the fullness of heaven is described by so much absence.

One thing to take into consideration with the sea being absent is that it is the sea that divides us. It is the sea that separates nations. This kind of division and separation will be absent from the new heaven and the new earth, unity will reign.

Also, the sea was also historically seen as a place of great dread and fear as we discussed by the Israelites. It was a place where sea monsters dwelt and where the dead dwelt. In Revelation is out of the depths of the sea that the beast himself rises up. Metaphorically, this text could be communicating that there is no place for evil to rise up out of. No place of depth to be feared.

² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

John sees the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.  Penny will talk more about this next week as we look at it detail as it is described in verses 9-27.  It is important to note that here is a city not built with human hands, but by the hands of God for us to enjoy. There is not another city like this city that has been prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

We know that a lot of work goes into the preparation of a bride on her wedding day. She is as adorned and as beautiful as it is possible to present her from her head to her toe. Her shoes, her hair, her makeup, her jewelry, her dress, her undergarments, her flowers all of it take careful planning and presentation of months of work. It is a painful process of great preparation.

In the same way, this Holy City, the New Jerusalem has been carefully adorned and prepared with just as much diligence and attention to all her details. This city is absolutely glorious. The moment it is displayed for the first time to be presented to the world, it is displayed with much pomp and attention as a bride is when the big double doors are closed and thrown open for her to walk through. That is how the New Jerusalem will be displayed as it comes down from the clouds.

This holy city is synonymous with the church, the bride of Christ because it is the place that is filled by the church; it is the place where the church will dwell, the place that Jesus has prepared for his people, for those who love him.

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-3)

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. (2 Cor. 5:1)

This Holy City is our eternal house in heaven and it is some city.  The bible says that it is foursquare, 12,000 stadia which we will discuss next week but this roughly comes out to 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles long and 1,500 miles high. It would be high enough to reach the low level satellites that orbit the earth.  It’s length would be akin from Maine to Florida and from North Dakota to Amarillo, TX just to give you an idea of the dimensions of this Holy City sparkling with jewels and golden streets. What an awesome site it will be to behold and I am sure that it truly is filled with mansions.

 ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

We saw the beauty of the throne room of God in heaven. What stood out to us about God’s throne was the beautiful colors and gems that radiated with transparency from his throne and the glassy transparent sea that was before it. This Holy City is of the same design. It shimmers with unimaginable beauty.

God’s dwelling place will no longer be separated. He will dwell with them. This is what makes heaven, heaven. It’s not the gold shimmering streets, or the beautiful creation but it is God Himself dwelling with us. This is the most magnificent idea of New Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies is the genuine Holy of Holies. God does not separate himself from us. He does not send us delegates to us to watch over and take charge over us in a separate place but He Himself dwells among us. I can’t imagine what that will be like. God the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent dwelling among us. Jesus Christ will be ruling over us.

⁴ ‘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.”

This is another absence that we discussed already. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, all these things entered with sin. Every time something goes wrong, people want to blame God. Every time, a plane crashes, a child dies, war breaks out, you will hear people say, if God is good, if God is loving then how could he have allowed this to happen? They get angry at God and they never think to get angry at Sin in this world. At the evilness that rules this world and at Satan. Satan is not even brought up at these times. He’s probably helping them point the finger at God so it does not point at him.  It is because of Satan that sin entered the world, and it is because of sin that death entered the world.  It has been a cancer in this world ever since and people have loved sin and desired sin that destroys them more then the God who loves them, created them and meets all their needs.  God is not our enemy.

It is God in this verse who will wipe every tear from their eyes. This is the caring nature of God.  Once again, he does not send Angels to counsel us, he does not send delegates, but he himself will wipe away the tears from our eyes and there is no one else in this world who knows or understands our tears more than he does.  When he wipes them, it is with a shared sense of suffering, of saying I know. I understand and it is over for the old order of things has passed away.

It passed away with the first heavens and the first earth and we won’t have any memory of them. This is a great mystery. I wonder what we will remember of this world. I know there is much we would like to remember, but there is much we would like to forget, images, words and memories burned into our hearts minds that need to be removed once and for all and those I know with great certainty will be.

See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more. (Isa. 65:17-19)

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Jesus is making all things new. It has already started in us. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new (kainos) creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new (kainos)has come. (2 Cor. 5:17) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)  But it will reach its completion in Christ. We will one day be made completely new, along with the earth and stay that way.

When God finally completes this work of making all things new, they will stay new.  “Presumably this means not only that everything will be made new, but also that everything will stay then new.  The entropy law will be ‘repealed.’  Nothing will wear out or decay, and no one will age or atrophy anymore.” (H. Morris)

Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

John is instructed to write these words down. Write them down so they are not lost or forgotten through the ages. So they would be remembered and preserved and so that tonight these words would reach your hands. “Behold I am making everything new!” These words were meant for you and me, to reach us tonight, to comfort us tonight if we would take hold of them and combine this truth with our faith.  Jesus is making everything new and he can make everything new. Perhaps you feel like your life is ruined. You need a new start. A fresh start. Perhaps you feel like your mistakes are unsalvageable. The truth is, you are probably right. That was a stupid thing you did, a stupid mistake you made. It has some painful consequences that you will live up to. You can turn to a dozen self help books and speak encouragement to your heart to just keep on going and live and make the best of the situation and that will do some good OR you can come to Christ, to his trustworthy and true words that he wanted you to know and to remember, that he can make all things new. He can give you a new life. He can make you a new creation. You can give you a new heart. He can give you a new will to follow him. He will give you a new Spirit. He can make you new according to his design and purposes for your life. He can give put you in a new heaven and a new earth. He can make you part of his new bride, if you will come to him in faith, with all your brokenness, all that you are, knowing that he died and was broken for you so that you might gain newness of life.  These words are faithful and true. All you have to do is give your life to him. Tell him that it’s not much of a life, it’s worn out and used but it’s all you have and lay it before him and ask him to make it a new life in him. Ask him to take away your sins, to forgive your sins and help you to know that new life. That’s it.

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

It is done. It is finished. Everything and everyone has their beginning in Jesus Christ and will find their end in Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. There is no life apart from Christ. No new beginnings apart from Christ. No other way to God except through the cross of Jesus, the way Jesus Himself made himself for us to enter into.

Jesus is also the end. There are a thousand things in this life that scream they will be the end of us. Jesus is the only true end of us. Sin always screams that we will die if we do not give into it. To which we reply we no longer look to sin to give us life and pleasure. Let us die instead. Jesus is the beginning.

Oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me

And before I’d be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

No more moaning, no more moaning, no more moaning over me

And before I’d be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

No more crying, no more crying, no more crying over me

And before I’d be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

Oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me

And before I’d be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

We have to view sin in our lives as we view the Antichrist. We have talked much about the martyrs and those who face death in these foreign countries for not renouncing their faith in Jesus Christ.  We may not be facing physical death in a foreign country because of the public confession of our faith; however, we are always facing death to our sinful selves and nature whenever sin confronts us and tries to get us to renounce our faith in God and his word. This happens to us daily as temptations approach. We must be on guard and on alert as any martyr is for their faith and not deny Christ in the hour of temptation wherever it finds us, in the midst of friends, a trial at work, a spouse or even alone. Let us not deny Christ and become a slave to sin.

 To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

This immediately brings to mind the woman at the well who Jesus meets in John 4 who he offers his living water to. He is making the same offer to anyone who is thirsty, anyone who has a desire to be refreshed who is feeling withered and dried out from the heat of life.  If you have a desire to know more about God, Jesus will grant it freely. He will satisfy you.

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?  Psa. 42:1-2

⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

All the blessings we have read about in this chapter of being made new and enjoying the new heaven and the new earth and the New Jerusalem are for those who are victorious. This is their inheritance for their victory.

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:5)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ (Rev.  2:7)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ (Rev. 2:11)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ (Rev. 2:17)

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, (Rev. 2:26)

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. (Rev. 3:5)

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, 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 from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. (Rev. 3:12)

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev. 3:21)

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son (Rev. 21:7)

If we would conquer something, it means we have to put something down by force and with authority. We take possession of the kingdom of heaven by force.  If we would have God’s kingdom then we must seize it with violence. Righteousness does not come natural to us, we must beat our bodies and discipline them in God’s ways.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. – Matthew 11:12

Thomas Watson in his book Heaven Taken by Storm writes:

In respect to the sluggishness of our hearts to that which is spiritual; blunt tools need whetting; a dull creature needs spurs. Our hearts are dull and heavy in the things of God, therefore we have need to spur them on and provoke them to that which is good. — The flesh hinders from duty: when we would pray, the flesh resists; when we should suffer, the flesh draws back. How hard it is sometimes to get the consent of our hearts to seek God! Jesus Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the throne of grace. Had not we need then provoke ourselves to duty? If our hearts are so unstrung in religion, we had need prepare and put them in tune.

The exercises of God’s worship are contrary to nature; therefore there must be a provoking of ourselves to them. The motion of the soul to sin is natural, but its motion towards Heaven is violent. The stone moves easily to the centre; it hath an innate inclination downward; but to draw up a millstone into the air is done by violence, because it is against nature: so to lift up the heart to Heaven in duty is done by violence and we must provoke ourselves to it. – Thomas Watson, Heaven Taken By Storm

⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Here is a solemn warning to us. If we would not lay hold of the kingdom of heaven with all our strength, if we are unbelieving of God’s word tonight, if we are just too cowardly, too fearful to make the necessary changes in our lives that seeking God would require, if we are afraid of losing our lives now and suffering now and would rather seek  to preserve them and maintain our comfort and ease now, if we are content to be vile, to be ugly towards God’s and towards others, if we are content to be murderers which is anyone who hates another,  if we content to live in sexual immorality, engaging in sexual relationships outside the boundaries of marriage, if we seek knowledge and our fortunes in magic arts, horoscopes, palm reading and other occult activity, other than seeking our fortunes and counsel in God’s word, if are content to be idolaters, worshipping and loving our sin more than we love God and if we are content to remain liars, to others and to our selves then we have no hope of ever laying hold of this Celestial holy city of the kingdom of God.

 God’s word which is faithful and true coming from a God who cannot lie says they will be consigned, that is committed forever and irrevocably to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. We all have to face death, the first death, but we do not all have to face second death, which is the reality for anyone who willingly rejects God in this life seeking to live their own life instead of trading it for Jesus’ crucified life.  We don’t know how long we will live, but we do know that this life is temporary; we can trade the temporary for the eternal if we give our lives to Christ now or we can keep the temporary life for however longer God gives us and forsake the eternal.  Not choosing is choosing and God is calling us to willingly choose him as he has chosen us to receive this life of Jesus Christ, which causes suffering now as we put our sins aside, but leads to glorious life in the future and even in this life. Do you believe?