"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea." Remember the first heaven and earth have been destroyed by fire so God must create a new heaven and earth. This time, there will be no pollution, no sin, no evil, just pure beauty. I imagine the new earth will look like the earth God intended before sin destroyed it. Can you imagine no more sea to separate us from those we love? It's going to be literal Paradise.
John then sees the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. A loud voice from heaven says, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, no sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." What a thought! God will wipe our tears away like a loving parent would do their child. I should add that while there are no tears in heaven, many tears will be shed as the redeemed saints watch their nonbelieving friends, family, spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, coworkers face the Great White Throne Judgment and be sentenced to the lake of fire. I believe Jesus Himself will have to wipe the tears from His own eyes as He tells part of His creation to depart from Him, not for a day, week, month, year, but forever and ever and ever. If you're reading this and you haven't committed your life to Jesus, please do so today. Don't miss out on eternity in Heaven for 70 years in the world.
Then He who sat on the throne said, "behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. I will give of the water of life freely to him who thirst. He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death."
The cowardly are those who are in bondage to fear. God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 The cowardly have an ungodly fear of things that are temporary. They're scared to confess Jesus because of what their friends, families, coworkers, and complete strangers will think or say about them. They won't stand up for what is right and true. They care way more about keeping their good reputation, name, money, and possessions over sticking up for the Bible and others. While it's true that it's not popular in society to confess Jesus as Lord, He did say that anybody that is ashamed of Him and of His teaching, He will be ashamed of him. Are the opinions of other people worth your soul? No.
The unbelieving is those who not only are hard-hearted atheists, but those who say they believe the Gospel, but truly don't. They live and act like the unbelievers. Their speech and look are that of an agnostic. They confess Christ, but nothing in their lives indicate a change. Why don't people believe in God? Honestly, I think deep down atheists and agnostics do believe God exists, but they pretend He doesn't. Why? Because they don't want to think about the fact that they must answer to Him for their sins. They've filed lawsuits to remove God from everything not because it infringes on their civil rights; but because they're convicted.
