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5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 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.” ~ Revelation 21:5-8
We continue our study of the book of the Revelation, and, today, we will consider our eternal state. Our anticipation of heaven is the only reality that can make life here and now have any lasting meaning. And as we come to the conclusion of the Bible, we come to God's description of heaven. God closes out His book with a dramatic presentation of the unbelievable reality of heaven.
After the thousand-year millennial reign of Christ on the earth, and the time when God will judge all the ungodly at the great white throne, and Satan is finally rendered null and void, and the universe will be destroyed, God will make a new heaven and a new earth.
In v.5-6 of today's text we read, "5 He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' 6 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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life."'
God brackets this book with, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." Everything in between comes from Him. These are words of truth that help us to believe in Him. On the cross, the Lord Jesus said, "It is finished," and man's redemption was settled and was made complete.
For the statement, "It is finished," John uses one word in the Greek, tetelestai, which literally means "PAID IN FULL." The Lord Jesus Christ achieved what no one could: He paid, in full, the penalty for all of mankind's sin.
In today's text, John, the Apostle, describes two classes of people: the occupants of heaven and the non-occupants of heaven. These occupants of eternity are described in two ways. The first is described as "the thirsty." The second are described as "unbelieving." In order to get into heaven we have to be thirsty. That is, you have to see your need to drink from God's well.
The Lord Jesus said to the woman at the well, "whoever drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
And then the Lord Jesus said to the Jews in the temple in Jerusalem, "if anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." Those who have a parched enough soul and admit it, will be those who will be in heaven.
In v.8 of today's text we read, "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."
The second group is described in such a way that they are defined by their evil desires which have become practices. Cowards don’t confess the Lord Jesus as their Savior. And, since they have no personal relationship with Him, they will have no saving faith. The only saving faith is the faith that has as its object the Lord Jesus Christ. And, these, the second group, will be defined by their evil deeds, the evil deeds of their flesh. The difference between the two will be: the group that gets into heaven are in Christ and are being defined by Him. They are not perfect, they are not earning anything. It's a gift for the receiving. The second group just wasn't willing.
