Tom Lowe
12/29/17
Book of Revelation Commentary
Lesson: V.D.1: The New Heaven and New Earth, God Dwelling with His People in the New Jerusalem Coming Down Out of Heaven (21:1-8)
Dear reader, please know that I didn’t intend to be so wordy [long-winded]; but I found this passage so interesting and having such a wonderful message that I just had to share it all with you. I hope you will agree!
Scripture (Rev. 21:1-8, KJV)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Commentary
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. In John’s vision, he saw a heaven and earth that might appropriately be called new, having such transformations and such changes in their appearance that they seemed to be just created. He does not say that they were created now, or that the old heavens and earth were obliterated; but all he says is that there were such changes that they seemed to be new. If the earth is to be renovated by fire, such a renovation will give the world the appearance of being newly created; and such changes to the world might be accompanied with an apparent change in the heavens, so that it too might be said to be new.
The description given here relates to scenes after the general resurrection and the judgment ?for those events are described at the close of the previous chapter. 2 Peter 3:13 reveals that the ancient Jews anticipated A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH: “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” The ancient Jews believed that God would renew the heavens and the earth at the end of seven thousand years. They founded this supposition on Isaiah 65:17: “Take notice! I'm about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things won't be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” This prophecy began to have its accomplishment in the early days of the Gospel, when through the preaching of it a new face appeared on things in Judea, and in the Gentile world, so that the whole world looked like a new world.
FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH WERE PASSED AWAY ?John's vision is of a new heaven and a new earth, reminding him that THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH HAD PASSED AWAY. John had seen THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH “pass away” just five verses earlier: “Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them” (20:11).
FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH WERE PASSED AWAY ?they had passed away by being changed, and a renovated universe had taken their place. [See the notes on the first clause.] John's point is that the “earth and sky” that disappeared (20:11) are now replaced with “a new sky” and “a new earth;” in other words, a new world—a whole new human environment. All is now light. For all things are new and full of righteousness and purity. This is the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13), where former things will not be remembered or come to mind (Isaiah 65:17).
AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA ?This change struck John more forcibly, it would appear, than anything else. Currently, the seas and oceans occupy about three-fourths of the surface of the globe, and, of course, to that extent prevent the world from being occupied by people; except by the comparatively small number that are sailors.
John’s vision seems to have given him the idea that the whole world will be habitable, and no part will be lost to oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, etc. In the present state of things, these vast oceans are necessary to render the world a fit habitat for human beings, as well as to give life and contentment to the countless variety of animals that find their homes in the waters. In the future state, it would seem the present arrangement will be unnecessary.
John's new creation, then, consists of a new sky and a new earth, without the sea and what the sea represents. Above all it consists of the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband (21:2). John has no interest in the new sky and new earth for their own sake. They merely set the stage for the real center of his attention: the new Jerusalem (see 21:9—22:5). His priorities are the same as Isaiah's, from whom he draws his imagery:
Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
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.
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." (Is 65:17-19)
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
AND I JOHN SAW THE HOLY CITY. The holy city is also called the holy Jerusalem (21:10). Throughout Scripture, Jerusalem is considered holy, although at times she plays the harlot ?“How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers” (Isa. 1:21). Jerusalem is called the “city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2), “city of God” (Ps. 87:3), “the faithful city” (Isa. 1:21), and the “holy city” (Isa. 52:1). Joel made a prediction, concerning her final state: “Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again” (Joel 3:17).
This HOLY CITY is the same as the beloved city in Revelation 20:9 ?“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city . . .” ?the church of God: sometimes the church, when acting in a militant way is called a CITY, of which the saints are now fellow citizens, governed by wholesome laws, and enjoying many privileges. But here the church of God, or all the elect of God, are meant, the whole body and society of them, functioning as a city that is called HOLY, not only because God the Father prearranged for it to be holy, and for their sins to be covered by the blood of Christ, or because He is made a blessing to them, or because they are internally sanctified by the Spirit of God [though now it is only partial]; but because they will be perfectly holy in themselves, without any sin in them, or any speck of sin on them: and John was given this vision so he would know what will happen in the future, and would write it in his book, so that every succeeding generation would also know.
Note: The apostle John gave this warning to anyone that would change or omit any words from His book (Revelation): “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:19). This warning concerns those who would deliberately tamper with the actual written words of this book. They are the ones who could not be saved and thus will not enjoy the blessings set forth for the redeemed
NEW JERUSALEM. There are many today who believe this means the Christian Church in a state of great prosperity and purity; but some think eternal blessedness is intended. “NEW” means it is new in quality, better, superior, and different “by way of contrast with the old or obsolete ?a substantially new (and better) one.” This is not how I interpret the Scripture. I believe it means what it says; that this passage speaks of a heavenly city created by God to serve as a home for believers.
Although the earthly JERUSALEM had been restored for the Millennial Kingdom in accordance with God’s word (See Isa. 62), it is not the ultimate city, but a literal city which God has prepared as the ultimate dwelling place for the faithful in their glorified existence beyond this life ?“In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 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 14:2-3). In a similar way to which the Temple on earth corresponds to a greater reality in heaven, the earthly Jerusalem will eventually be replaced by the NEW JERUSALEM. Unlike the earthly Jerusalem, the NEW JERUSALEM has never been subjected to destruction or desolation. Nor has it ever needed watchmen on its walls to pray for its protection and reestablishment (Isa. 62:6).
Paul compared the earthly Jerusalem with the “Jerusalem above” when teaching of the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old (Gal. 4:24-26). Jesus called the New Jerusalem “the city of My God” and promised the overcomer that He would write upon him the name of the city (Rev. 3:12). The New Jerusalem is the ultimate destination of all the saints. Those who follow Jesus have no continuing city on earth, but ultimately seek the one to come, the New Jerusalem ?“For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come” (Heb. 13:14).
In order to prevent interpreters from being allegorical in their approach to the NEW JERUSALEM, John is given a tour of the city by an angel who carefully measures its physical dimensions. The scene is reminiscent of the passage in Ezekiel where an angel (“man”) shows Ezekiel the Millennial Temple and provides detailed measurements concerning its physical layout (Eze. 40:3). In both Ezekiel and here, the prophets observe structures vastly different than anything in history. Because of this, many are reluctant to take the details in a literal fashion and reduce the passages to teaching general spiritual principles.
COMING DOWN ?John saw the city as it was in the process of descending. John sees the city descend in two separate visions. Here, he sees the New Jerusalem as part of the overall scene describing the newly recreated order. A few verses later, an angel gives John a detailed tour of the city which comprises the last half of the chapter (Rev. 21:9-27).
It is a saying of the ancient Jews that both the tabernacle, and the temple, and Jerusalem itself, came down from heaven. Their opinion is, that there is a spiritual temple, a spiritual tabernacle, and a spiritual Jerusalem; and that none of these can be destroyed, because they exist in their spiritual representatives. [Again, I interpret Scripture literally ?these are real; temple, tabernacle, and city.]
PREPARED AS A BRIDE ? [lit., “having been prepared.”] For those who do not know, a “BRIDE” is a young woman that is about to be married. It can also be the newly married woman.” Christ is the husband, or bridegroom, and the New Jerusalem is His spouse, and bride; and they will both appear at this time, and the city may be said to be prepared as such, when all the elect of God are gathered in, the number of the saints is perfected; when the good work of grace is finished in them all, and they are all arrayed in the righteousness of Christ: and are ready to be “adorned.”
The idea seems to be that the BRIDE had no part in her preparation. This is because the bride is inanimate: a city. This bride contrasts with the bride mentioned in Revelation 19:7, who “made herself ready.” ?“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” The bride at the marriage of the Lamb participated in her readiness—indicating she is made up of living beings: the saints who had previously been resurrected at the Rapture. Here, the bride is an inanimate city which is prepared by God.
The purpose here is, to represent the New Jerusalem as exceedingly beautiful. The comparison of the church with a bride, or a wife, is common in the Scriptures. It is also common in the Scriptures to compare a city with a beautiful woman, and these images here seem to be combined. It is a beautiful city that seems to descend, and this city is itself compared with a richly-attired bride prepared for her husband,
ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND ?Adorned, that is, having been decorated. Whereas the bride at the marriage of the Lamb wears linen for her covering (Rev. 19:8), the city wears the glory of God [A most excellent glory, received from God.], and precious stones: “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal”(Rev. 21:11). The garments of the city are not given as clothing, nor related to righteousness, because the city is inanimate.
God is her husband because it is He who restores her and has promised that she would rejoice as a bride. Although He had adorned the earthly Jerusalem as a beautiful woman, she played the harlot (Eze. 16:1-16). Nevertheless, He promised that one day Jerusalem would wear beautiful garments again, for she would be holy and no unclean thing would come into her (Isa. 52:1).
The new Jerusalem is prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. This city is also personified as a woman, not a prostitute like evil Babylon, but a pure and holy bride. The bride was mentioned in passing once before (19:7-8), when she represented "the saints," or people of God, the redeemed "virgins" who followed the Lamb wherever he went (14:4-5). They have now ruled with Him on earth for a thousand years (20:4-6).
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
AND I HEARD A GREAT VOICE OUT OF HEAVEN SAYING. This is the voice of authority that we have heard time after time in this prophecy; either the voice of an angel, or of Christ, or of God himself; the Alexandrian copy and Vulgate Latin version read, “out of the throne.”
BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE OF GOD IS WITH MEN. The TABERNACLE, referring to the sacred “tent” erected in the wilderness, was regarded as the unique dwelling-place of God among His people, as the temple was afterward, and was also called a “TABERNACLE.” The writer of Hebrews wrote: “For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the show bread; which is called the sanctuary” (Hebrews 9:2).
“THE TABERNACLE . . . IS WITH MEN” means that God would now dwell with the redeemed, as if in a tabernacle, or in a house specially prepared for His residence among them. It is not said that this would be “on the earth,” although that may be; for it is possible that the earth, as well as other worlds, may yet become the abode of the redeemed, as said in 2 Peter 3:13 ? “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” God, in a most remarkable manner, dwells among his followers, diffusing his light and life everywhere.
The word “TABERNACLE” as used here means a tent, a booth, or a hut; specifically, the tent for public worship made by Moses in the wilderness, where many signs of His presence were given. For a description of this, see Exodus 26. The TABERNACLE, like the temple afterward, was divided into two parts by the veil (Exodus 26:31, 33), one of which was called “the holy place,” and the other “the holy of holies.” The exact size of the two rooms in the TABERNACLE is not specified in the Scriptures, but it is commonly supposed that the TABERNACLE was divided in the same manner as the temple was later; that is, two-thirds of the interior constituted the holy place, and one-third the holy of holies.
Note that the TABERNACLE takes precedence over the temple. More and more, right through to the end of the New Testament, it is made clear that the vaunted temple of the Jews was their idea, not God's, and that, as in the monarchy, God accommodated them and allowed them to have it, despite its not being His will from the first.
THE TABERNACLE OF GOD IS WITH MEN may be an allusion to one or all of the following:
1. The tabernacle being with the Israelites, and the “Shechinah,” or divine Majesty, being in the midst of them.
2. The accomplishment of the promise in Ezekiel 37:27: “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
3. Something visible, something that can be seen and touched like the countries that surround them have, and something grand that would show to the world the greatness of their God; but distinct from the spiritual presence of Christ in His church.
AND HE [Christ] WILL DWELL WITH THEM [literally, “tabernacle with them”; the same Greek word that is used of the divine Son, for “tabernacling among us.”]; in person and not by His Spirit, or by faith, as before, nor as a traveling man only for a night; but HE WILL DWELL WITH THEM for the space of a thousand years, and after that forever: Christ and His church will now come together as husband and wife. Then He was in the weakness of the flesh: but at the new creation of heaven and earth He shall tabernacle among us in the glory of His manifested Godhead: “they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:4). They will enjoy what is called the *beatific vision; and they shall exhibit the fullest evidence that they belong entirely to him, for his name shall be written on their foreheads.
*In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the ultimate direct self communication of God to the individual person. A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, i.e., heaven. The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face to face and not imperfectly through faith? “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:11–12).
AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE [Greek, “His peoples”: “The nations of the saved” being predominantly His, as Israel was intended to be.], that is, they shall be His covenant people, and there will be no doubt about it. This is made evident in some measure by the effectual calling; but it does not yet appear neither to the saints themselves, nor to others, what they are, and shall be, but now it will be evident and unquestionable ?He will acknowledge them publicly as His own, and will dwell with them as their God.
AND GOD HIMSELF SHALL BE WITH THEM?Shall be permanently with them; shall never leave them; the ‘Immanuel,’ God with us; but not by His Spirit, as He was after His ascension to heaven; but in person, He Himself will descend from heaven, when His church, the new Jerusalem does. The Lord their God will come in person with all the saints, and will be King over all the earth.
AND BE THEIR GOD, as Thomas confirms in just five words, “My Lord, and my God” ( John 20:28). The covenant of grace, with all its blessings and promises, are in Him, and now it will have its full accomplishment, and the saints will be in a state of inexpressible happiness?“How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!” (Psalm 144:15). Whose God is Yahweh; who worship and serve Him as their God. The worship of Yahweh?the religion of Yahweh?is “tailored” to make people happy, peaceful, quiet, and blessed. Prosperity and peace, such as are referred to in the previous verses, are the result of unadulterated religion. Peace, order, and abundance go with it everywhere, and the best security for a nation‘s prosperity is the worship of God. That which is most certain to make a nation happy and blessed, is to acknowledge God and to keep His laws.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES. This will be one of the characteristics of that blessed state, that not a tear shall ever be shed there. How different will that be from the present state of things. I want to ask a question: Is there anyone reading this that has not learned to weep? Listen to what John said earlier: “For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17). In the most affectionate and fatherly manner, He will wash away all tears from their eyes; all causes of distress and grief. They shall have pure, unadulterated happiness. Reader, this is the happiness of those who have their sins washed away. Art you washed? You will never be truly happy until you are prepared to appear before God and the Lamb.
If these saints had not met with troubles and suffering, in all likelihood they would not have excelled so much in righteousness and true holiness. When all avenues of worldly comfort are shut up, we are compelled to seek the way out in God; and there is nothing sought from Him that is not found in Him.
AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH in that future world of glory, nobody will ever die, and graves will be a thing of the past! What a picture we begin to get of heaven, when we realize that there shall be no “DEATH” there! How different it will be from earth, where death is so common and frequent; where no one is spared; where our best friends die; where the wise, the good, the useful, the lovely die; where fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, all die; where we habitually feel that we must die. Surely we have here a view of heaven that is glorious and animating for those who dwell in a world like this, and to whom nothing is more common than death. In all their endless and glorious career, the redeemed will never see death again; they will never die. They will never carry the casket of a friend to the grave, nor fear that an absent friend is dead. The slow funeral procession will never be witnessed there; nor will the soil ever open its bosom to furnish a grave. When we meet in Heaven, perhaps you will join me in saying, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Death is the humiliation of man. Sin is his sting. He comes to conquer. Sin treacherously throws open the gates, and allows him to enter man. Upon entering, he compels the man to become his tool. Sin is his weapon as well as his guarantee. Literally and definitely, the sting of death is sin. But victory is ours. It is a victory that becomes ever brighter as we press on in our Christian life and calling. The peace of it is more and more deeply felt. The high hope which it animates is more and more eagerly grasping the fullness of its eternal heavenly joy.
NEITHER SORROW ?The word “SORROW,” as it appears here, means ‘sorrow or grief’ of any kind; sorrow for the loss of property or friends; sorrow for disappointment, persecution, or trouble; sorrow over our sins, or sorrow that we do not love God more, and sorrow because we are so unfaithful; sorrow that we are sick, or that we must die. How plentiful are the sources of sorrow here; how constant it is on the earth! Since the fall of man there has not been a day, an hour, a moment, in which this has not been a sorrowful world; there has not been a nation, a tribe?a city or a village?not even a family, where there has not been grief of one sort or another. There has not been even one individual who has always been perfectly happy. No one gets up in the morning, certain that he will not end the day in grief; no one lies down at night with any assurance that it may not be a night of sorrow. How different would this world be if it were announced that henceforth there would be no sorrow! How different, therefore, will heaven be when we have the Savior’s assurance that from this day forward there will be no grief of any kind!
NOR CRYING. This word refers to a cry, an outcry, as in giving a public announcement; a cry emanating from chaos; a shout or scream?“And there occurred a great uproar; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly . . .” (Acts 23:9)?a cry of sorrow, or wailing. This is evidently its meaning here, and it refers to all the outbursts of grief arising from affliction, from oppression, from violence; all are the product of sin. The sense is that none of these causes of wailing will be known in the future state, all such wailing will cease. This, too, will make the future state vastly different from our condition here. Think for a moment, what a change it would produce on the earth if the cry of grief were never to be heard again!
NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN. There will be no sickness, and no tragedy; and there will be no mental sorrow arising from remorse, from disappointment, or from the evil conduct of friends. And what a change would this produce, for how full of pain is the world today! How many lie on beds, pining away; how many are suffering under incurable diseases; how many are undergoing severe surgical operations; how many are pained by the loss of property or friends, or subjected to acute anguish by the misconduct of those who they love! How different would this world be, if all PAIN were to cease forever; how different, therefore, must the blessed state of the future be from the present!
FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY?pains, sorrows, deaths, and violence of the old world; the world as it was before the judgment. All those things that caused sorrows and sufferings, tears and temptations, lamentations and weeping to the church and people of God are come to an end, for the reason that the old serpent is bound, the beast and false prophets taken and cast into the lake of fire (See Revelation 19:20-21; Revelation 20:2-11). Now the church of God has rest, peace and glory. Now the Lord’s redeemed ones are made unto God, kings and priests, and shall reign on earth (Revelation 5:9-10; Revelation 11:15; Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:27-28).
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
AND HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE SAID. The speaker is either God the Father, who is often represented in this book as sitting on the throne; what is more, since He is by adopting grace the God and Father of His people, and they are His sons and daughters, it may seem even more likely that He is the speaker. If not God the Father, it must be God the Son, Jesus Christ, who is not only set down on the same throne with His Father, but has a throne of His own, called the throne of the Lamb, and was seen upon one by John in the preceding vision (Revelation 20:11); and especially since the person on the throne speaking, calls himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, as Christ does in Revelation 1:8. He addresses John, and informs him of the following things.
BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW; a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), and a succession of things compatible with that new creation. The former state of things when sin and death reigned will be changed, and the change that results from this must extend to everything, for only God can create a new person, place, or thing, where nothing existed before. This is a hard blow to proud, humanistic, naturalistic man who believes that he is capable of building a better tomorrow through research, applied technology, etc. Leagues of Nations, United Nations, conferences on human rights, five-year plans, or hundred-year programs are all doomed to fail and frustrate great men in great universities. Only God can make something that is new. All little man can do is modify and rearrange what God has already created.
Just as the creation of the world at the beginning is the work of God alone, so is this new creation?a new heaven and new earth (21:1), and a succession of things compatible with that new creation. The former state of things when sin and death reigned will be changed, and the result must extend to everything.
AND HE SAID UNTO ME... Apparently, the same person also said the following. God himself is the speaker here, which is somewhat of a rarity in Revelation.
WRITE: FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL ?both what He had said, and was about to say; they were “TRUE,” because they came from God, who cannot lie, and “FAITHFUL,” because they would be punctually and exactly fulfilled; see Revelation 19:9. The making of all things new is such a super-colossal conception that John seems to have been completely astounded by it, and needed to be prompted to keep on writing. “THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL” seems to carry the thought that no matter how stupendous and impossible such things may appear to people, God will nevertheless certainly create all things new! They are founded in truth, and they are worthy to be believed.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
AND HE SAID UNTO ME ?that is, He that sat on the throne; the Messiah.
IT IS DONE ?It is finished, completed. An expression remarkably similar to this occurs in John 19:30, when the Savior on the cross said, “It is finished.” The meaning of the passage before us evidently is, “the great work is accomplished; the arrangement of human affairs is complete. The redeemed are gathered in; the wicked are cut off; truth is triumphant, and all is now complete ?prepared for the eternal state of things.”
Most Bible commentators understood this to be a reference to Revelation 21:5. The creation of all things new is referred to here as a past event, by the prophetic tense, showing that it is as certain to happen as if it had already occurred. The expression, “IT IS DONE,” signi?es that everything planned by the Lord and predicted for the period up to the point at hand has been accomplished; for it rests on God's unchanging word. When all of God’s plans have been carried out, God shall rejoice over His work, as He did at the first creation, when God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.
I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. This language makes it absolutely certain that the speaker here is the Lord Jesus, for it is the very language which he uses of Himself in Revelation 1:8?“I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” ALPHA AND OMEGA is the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God in Christ comprises all that goes between, as well as the first and last. If it is applied to Him here, it proves that He is divine, for in the following verse (7) the speaker says that He would be a God to him who should “overcome.” The meaning of the language used here is that Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the chief, the whole of things; as of the covenant of grace, He is the first and last of it, He is the Mediator, surety, and messenger of it, and the ratifier and confirmer of it, He is the covenant itself, all its blessings and promises are in Him; He is the sum and substance of the Scriptures, both of the law and of the Gospel; He is the fulfillment and end of the law, and He is the subject matter of the Gospel; he stands in the first verse in Genesis, and in the last of the Revelation; the Alpha and the Omega ?the first and the last.
I WILL GIVE UNTO HIM THAT IS ATHIRST, not after the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world, but after Christ, and salvation by Him; after pardon of sin, and a justifying righteousness; after communion with Christ, and conformity to Him, and a greater degree of knowledge of Him. Our Lord declares that those who feel a very intense desire for righteousness shall obtain it; not in a natural, much less in a sinful, but in a spiritual sense. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). No other religion had ever made such a promise. Under Christianity the promise is clear and definite. [Compare Romans 8:3, 4; Hebrews 7:11, 19, 25.] The promise is realized in part by the attainment of a higher degree of righteous living, and in part by the perfect forgiveness of our sins. But the joy of this individual righteousness, blessed as it is, shall be surpassed by that of the universal righteousness of the new creation ?“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”(2 Peter 3:13).
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE. An image often used in the Scriptures to represent salvation. It is compared with a great fountain that flows in abundance, where all who thirst for righteousness may freely slake their thirst. So after the glories of His kingdom, and the happiness of a future state, Christ promises to give to such a large measure of grace and glory, and in such abundance that it will continue to refresh and delight. It may be compared to a fountain of living water, namely, for refreshment, abundance, and longevity.
FREELY ?All that is mentioned above, He will give “FREELY,” without money, (Isaiah 55:1; John 7:37). The meaning here is not that He would do this in the future, but that He had shown that this was His character, as He had claimed, in the same way as He had shown that He was the Alpha and the Omega. The freeness and the fullness of salvation will be one of the most striking things made obvious when the immense hosts of the redeemed shall be welcomed to their eternal abodes. Pardon, and righteousness, and salvation, are all of free grace, so are all the delights of the kingdom of God, the riches, honors, and glory of it, and eternal life itself.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
HE THAT OVERCOMETH SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS. He who overcomes is familiar by now: the overcomer is Jesus Christ. The promises to the Seven Churches of Asia were given to “him who overcomes” (Rev. 2:7) [The immediate audience for the Revelation recorded by John is “the seven historical churches” in Asia Minor which Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are written to (Rev. 1:4). Asia is not the Asia of our day which is the world’s largest continent stretching from the Pacific Ocean on its eastern border to the Ural Mountains in the west. At the time of John, the region referred to the peninsula known as Asia Minor. Through their identification with Jesus, the True Overcomer (John 16:33; 1Jn. 4:4), the people of God inherit all the promises given to the overcomer and everything which Jesus is given.
What an incredible promise! Anything and everything which the Father has given to the Son is also the possession of the saints, for it says in 1 Corinthians 3:21, “all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours.”
In the same way as an earthly inheritance, the things which pass to the saints do so without reference of their merit or effort. They are attained solely because they stand as brothers of Christ. “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. (Eph. 1:11-12). You can be sure your inheritance is safe, because it is, “reserved in heaven for you.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1Pe. 1:3-4).
AND I WILL BE HIS GOD, AND HE SHALL BE MY SON. The position of the overcomer as a son of God is emphasized. This phrase emphasizes the reason for the overcomer’s inheritance: his position as a son of God.
The phrase son of God describes those who are of direct descent from God. The angels were created directly by God and are the sons of God (Gen. 6:2). Adam was created directly by God and is called the “son of God” (Luke 3:38). In His humanity, being born of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the Son of God (Luke 1:35). And the redeemed, born of God’s Spirit, are the sons of God. Listen to these verses, for this is how Scripture explains it.
• But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
• For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Rom. 8:14-17)
• And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Gal. 4:6-7)
• Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Eph. 1:3-5)
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
BUT THE FEARFUL (cowardly; timid); persons showing FEAR in a shameful way. The word is used to describe the lack of faith. “He replied, ‘You of little faith,’ why are you so afraid?. . .” (Mat. 8:26).
• “During the Tribulation, the Beast worshipers took his mark, partly out of FEAR of losing their lives (Rev. 13:15).
• They were among those who, because of FEAR, saved their lives, but ultimately lost both their soul and body in hell (Mat. 10:28).
• The wicked and lazy servant hid his talent in the ground out of FEAR rather than investing it for the Lord’s benefit. He was cast into outer darkness (Mat. 25:25; Luke 19:21).
• Those who deny Jesus before men, possibly out of FEAR, will not be confessed by the Son of Man before God and His angels (Luke 12:8-9).
• Many of the religious rulers believed in Jesus, but for FEAR of being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees, would not confess Him.” They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).
This passage concerns those who are among the unredeemed, it is not a threat that believers who struggle with FEAR at times are in danger of the Lake of Fire. Those who are born-again have not been given a spirit of FEAR, “but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Ti. 1:7).
AND UNBELIEVING (ones without faith). Those who did not believe the truth are condemned (2 Th. 2:12). Those who are unbelieving have a defiled mind and conscience. They often profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him. “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Tit. 1:15-16). Lack of faith in the Son results in eternal condemnation:
• He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)
• He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. (1Jn. 5:10)
There are no unbelievers among the overcomers: “And this is the victory which has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn. 5:4b-5).
AND THE ABOMINABLE (“abhorrent, detestable [ones],” “loathsome [ones].” They have become abominable because they participated in activities which are considered abominable to God. They are considered unclean and, therefore, will never enter the holy city (Rev. 21:27). The cup which the Harlot held was full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication
ABOMINABLE activities under the Law of Moses include: partaking of unclean animals (Lev. 11:10-42); homosexual behavior (Lev. 18:22; 20:13); bestiality (Lev. 18:23-26); improper consumption of an offering (Lev. 19:7); idol worship (Deu. 7:25-26); child sacrifice (Deu. 12:31; Deu. 18:10); offering an imperfect sacrifice (Deu. 17:1); worshiping other gods, including planetary bodies (Deu. 13:13-14; Deu. 17:3-4); sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, interpreting omens (Deu. 18:12); cross-dressing (Deu. 22:5); offering money gained through sinful practices in the house of the Lord (Deu. 23:18); taking a woman back after having divorced (Deu. 24:4); and many more. All of these activities have a common attribute: they are behaviors which arouses God’s anger because they break His law. In this sense, abomination and rebellion are related.
AND MURDERERS ?those that destroy either the soul, body, or good name, of their neighbors, especially persecutors; the whore and her followers, who are drunk with the blood of the saints; and prophets, and martyrs of Jesus, with whose blood Babylon, or the whore of Rome, has made herself drunk, and in whom it will be found.
AND WHOREMONGERS?the sexually immoral, fornicators; used for a man who has sexual intercourse with a prostitute (1Cor. 5:9). During the Tribulation, the earth dwellers?“those who dwell upon the earth” denotes the unsaved at the time of the end, who worship the Beast [The ruler of the final global kingdom prior to the Second Coming of Christ.] and who steadfastly continue in their rejection of God.” ?refused to repent of their sexual immorality. John said, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people” (Rev. 9:21).
AND SORCERERS denotes “one who prepares and uses drugs for magical purposes or ritual witchcraft; sorcerer, poisoner, magician.” During the Tribulation, the earth dwellers refused to repent of their sorceries (Rev. 9:21). The term occurs in the list of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20) and is translated sorcery (witchcraft, KJV).
AND IDOLATERS refers to those who take part in idol-worship or consult false prophets. Jezebel seduced God’s servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols (Rev. 2:20; 1Cor. 10:19-20). She is perhaps the most evil female appearing within the Old Testament. She promoted Baal worship (1 K. 18:19) and practiced spiritual harlotry and witchcraft (2 K. 9:22). She actively sought to exterminate the prophets of God (1 K. 18:4, 13) while supporting 450 prophets of Baal.
AND ALL LIARS
Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. . . . there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The coming of the lawless one, the Antichrist [The ruler of the final global kingdom prior to the Second Coming of Christ.], was with all power, signs and lying wonders (2 Th. 2:9). Those who continue to lie will ultimately fall prey themselves to lies: they will not come to the truth (2 Th. 2:11-12). Eventually, their own conscience becomes seared (1 Ti. 4:2). All who reject salvation are ultimately liars: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (1 Jn. 2:22). The truth of God has been made known to men through general revelation, but men actively suppress the truth (lie) in unrighteousness. Knowing the truth, they promote false ideas such as God doesn’t exist or that His existence cannot be known (Rom. 1:18). Every category of man now stands on an individual basis before God. Wealth, power, fame, is all immaterial now. As the cross stands as the great equalizer among people of faith on the road to salvation, so the Great White Throne Judgment is the equalizer among those on their way to eternal damnation. (Revelation 20:12).
All these categories of unbelievers SHALL HAVE THEIR PART. Since they do not have the Holy Spirit, they will not inherit the kingdom of God, for by nature, they practice the works of the flesh (Rom. 8:1-5; Gal. 5:16):
• “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21)
• For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. (Eph. 5:5-7)
• But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. (1Ti. 1:8-10)
Those described by this list are ones who continued in these activities without repentance. In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul emphasizes the forgiveness which remains available for the godless in this age of grace, if they would but turn to God in faith and be cleansed of their sin:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1Cor. 6:9-11) [emphasis added]
IN THE LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, implies that the lake is presently being burnt with fire. Emphasis is placed upon the ongoing reality of the fire. All the unsaved dead, who were not found written in the Book of Life, were cast into the Lake of Fire. God is righteous and just. He will dutifully check the Book of Life for the name of each and every one who stands in this judgment. Scripture records the sobering outcome: those not written in the book face eternal doom. Being “the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:39), none of these will be found written there. The Beast worshipers in their midst—a relatively small proportion of the sum total of unbelievers of all ages—will never have been written in the book (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). The rest of the unsaved dead were written in the book at one time, but having rejected God until their death, their names were blotted out (Ex. 32:32; Ps. 69:28; Rev. 3:5).
Although their deeds determine the relative degree of punishment, all who reject the Lamb of God stands without atonement for their sin and are condemned. It is their absence from the Book of Life of the Lamb (Rev. 13:8; 21:27) which seals their fate and indicates a complete lack of relationship with Jesus—He never knew them (Mat. 7:22-23).
WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH. “THE SECOND DEATH” and the “lake of fire” are identical terms (Revelation 20:14) and are used for the eternal state of the wicked, by which is meant eternal death, to make it distinct from a physical one and a spiritual one [which is the destruction of both body and soul in hell, and an everlasting separation from God, and a continual sense of divine wrath.] But the saints do not need to fear this, for they are ordained to eternal life; this is secured for them in Christ, and He has secured it in His hands for them, and will give it to them.
The phrase is Jewish, and is opposed to the first death, or the death of the body; which is the effect of sin, and is fixed in time and place by God. The people of God die as well as others; but the second death happens only to wicked men; wicked in unbelief and rejection of God. Their eternal state is one of eternal “DEATH” (i.e. separation from God) in sins (John 8:21; John 8:24). That the second death is not annihilation is shown by a comparison of Revelation 19:20 and Revelation 20:10?see below.
Compare…
But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (Revelation 19:20)
And the devil, which deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
After one thousand years in the lake of fire, the Beast and False Prophet are still there, undestroyed. The words “forever and forever” are used in Hebrews 1:8 for the duration of the throne of God, eternal in the sense of unending.
