TUESDAY
Yesterday we saw the depiction of the new creation as a holy city coming down from heaven. Today we continue with this description.
Revelation 21:5-8 5 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. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 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.”
What a statement from God who is seated on the throne (the place of sovereign power and authority). “I am making all things new.” God is renewing his creation that has been infected with sin and evil.
These words from God are “trustworthy (faithful—same word) and true.” Back in 19:11 we saw that Jesus was called both Faithful and True and the Word of God. Here the words of God are faithful and true. These prophecies will certainly come to pass as they are from God who is faithful and true himself.
“It is done,” God declares. The end of history has come. This echoes what the voice from the throne says after the 7th bowl is poured out in 16:17. Again, we have a telescoping picture of events.
God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The second phrase describes the first as they are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. So, the point in saying this is that God is the ruler over all of creation from beginning to end and everything in between. He is the eternally existent one who created everything and will recreate everything.
Those who are thirsty will receive water from the river of life for free. The free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). This theme of thirsting for God is one that we find in the Psalms.
Psalm 42:1 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
Psalm 63:1 1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
In John’s gospel he records Jesus speaking of this living water as well.
John 7:37–39 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 4:10 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”… 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
This is the beautiful promise of the gospel—our longings are, at their core, longings for God. Only in Christ will these longings be satisfied. And he gives this without cost. It is a free gift of God’s grace.
This gift is free yet it is only for those who conquer. The one who conquers will receive this heritage or inheritance. Remember, to conquer is to remain faithful to the Lamb and the way of the Lamb amidst the pressures of Babylon. It is strong, military language but in the context of this book it means loving even our enemies even if it leads to death—acting like Jesus. Those who remain faithful to Jesus will receive the inheritance of the new creation. In the Old Testament the land of Israel was regularly referred to as God’s people’s inheritance. So this would bring up those connotations which apply to the new creation theme. It would also, however, bring up connotations of God’s people being God’s inheritance (Ex. 19:5; Dt. 7:6; 32:9; Eph. 1:11). This second idea is emphasized with the next phrase—”I will be his God and he will be my son.” There is no better inheritance than belonging to God as his child in a covenant relationship with him.
Finally, not everyone will inherit this new creation life and child status. God gives a list of vices that describe the people who will not inherit this new creation and this covenant relationship. Whereas these lists are common in the New Testament, this first one is rarely on the list. Cowardice, however, would certainly apply to his audience. One must not only confess Jesus in private, but also courageously stand for Christ in the face of the Roman empire. Detestable things refers most likely to the practices associated with the idolatry of the imperial cult. Sexual immorality, as we’ve seen, can be a metaphor for idolatry or a literal reference to sexual immorality. Here it is most likely a literal reference to sexual immorality, a junk drawer term describing any sexual behavior that does not align with the only approved sexual expression in Scripture—a man and a woman in the covenant bounds of marriage. Sorcerers refers to those who practice dark arts to do extraordinary things. Liars are included as well as they are practicing the way of Satan who lies as his native language (Jn 8:44).
Additional Content
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory
Reflection
Thirst and conquer.
Do you thirst for God? Do you long for him? Is he the primary object of your affection and your worship?
How are you currently being challenged to conquer? How are you being pressured to abandon your faithful witness to Jesus? Is it in an area of truth? Are you being tempted to abandon the essential beliefs of the gospel? Conquer by strengthening your faith in the gospel. Is it in an area of ethics? Are you tempted to abandon the way of Jesus for the way of the dragon? Are you pursuing power without sacrifice and cowardly succumbing to Babylon? Are you participating in sexual immorality, dark arts, idolatry or lying? Conquer by confessing those sins, repenting and committing to following the Lamb wherever he goes.