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Psalms
119:70-79 Their heart
is as fat as grease, But I
delight in Your law. It is good
for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. The law of
Your mouth is better to me Than
thousands of coins of gold and
silver. Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I
may learn Your commandments. Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have
afflicted me. Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According
to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may
live; For Your law is my
delight. Let the proud be ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with
falsehood; But I will meditate
on Your precepts. Let those who fear You turn to me, Those who know Your
testimonies.
Father God, we thank you for your
mercy. Bless us and our loved ones and provide us the things we need and not
what we want. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 21:1-8 NKJV
These last two chapters of Revelation tell us what
will take place after sin is removed from earth. It is much more pleasant and
refreshing to study and learn about, compared to all the destruction that will
take place prior to this time in the future. These chapters are uplifting and
will cause the mind to wander, ponder, and meditate on God’s Word, and what
life will be like without sin’s influence on people. It is a life hard to
imagine, but a life that God intended before Satan deceived Eve and sin entered
into each of our lives because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. It only took one
sin of disobedience to separate them from God and the result of that act causes
all that are born of flesh to be separated from God also. That is why Jesus
tells us we must be born of the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. A person
must ask Jesus to forgive them, repent (desire to turn from sin), and ask Jesus
to help them turn from their sinful lifestyle. A Spiritual birth is from the
heart not the mind, only a person’s remorseful heart will result in a Spiritual
Birth. Baptism, confessing to man, rituals, or any other man devised thing will
not cleanse a person’s heart. It only took one little sin of disobedience to
separate man from God, not murder, or robbing a bank, or adultery, just disobedience.
Ok let’s see what this chapter starts out with.
1 Now 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.
Now
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; This
phrase, “a new heaven and a new earth”, is also mentioned by the prophet Isaiah
and Peter.
Isaiah 65:16-18 So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall
swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And
because they are hidden from My eyes. 17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a
new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be
glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.
Isaiah 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall
your descendants and your name remain.
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Does this mean the present
heaven and earth will be destroyed? No the proper translation means it will be
refreshed. Everything that sin has caused will be eliminated. “New” in the
Greek is, “kainos,” and means, “freshness with respect to age.” The present
earth and heaven will be cleansed as we will learn in the next phrase of this
verse.
For
the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; “Pass away” in the Greek is,
“parerchomai,” and means, “to pass from one condition to another.” It does not
mean annihilation. Peter tells us the elements will melt with fervent heat
meaning the works of man will be burned up, therefore a renewing of the present
earth. All that man has accomplished will be removed from earth, because what
is from man is man not God. Just exactly how this will happen we don’t know,
but I believe Verse 2 holds a clue to how this will happen.
2 Peter 3:10-12 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be
dissolved, what manner of persons
ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming
of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on
fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
This passing away is
emblematic of the change that takes place to an individual that is Born Again.
The old life passes away and a new life begins. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Also
there was no more sea; This tells us when the earth is renewed there will
be no oceans. It doesn’t mention lakes and rivers, so I believe they will exist.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.
What
this verse is telling us is this. The bride is not the New Jerusalem, but those
in the New Jerusalem. The bride consists of all that are Born Again Saints that
reside in the New Jerusalem. Those in
Heaven will be in glorified bodies and residing in the New Jerusalem. This all
takes place after the Great White Throne judgment. At this point in time those
that have lived a sinful life will be cast in the Lake of Fire and those on
earth living for Jesus will receive a glorified body. This is how it will be
possible for the heaven and earth to be renewed. Paul tells us the New
Jerusalem is already present in Heaven where God’s Saints reside that pass from
this earth, so it only makes sense the New Jerusalem will remain in Heaven
until the earth is made new. God would not put the New Jerusalem or his Saints
on an earth that was corrupted by sin. Galatians 4:26 but the
Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God
Himself will be with them and be
their God.
This
voice from Heaven reiterates the prophecies of old. Ezekiel proclaims God will
dwell among His people. Ezekiel
37:27-28 My
tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall
be My people. 28
The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary
is in their midst forevermore. Jesus dwelt among His people when He was human
flesh. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. In Revelation Chapter 7 we are told that God will
dwell among His people and provide for them forever. Revelation 7:15-17 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and
serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell
among them. 16
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike
them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes." Those that are God’s children
will be provided for in all things as long as we keep our faith in the Jesus
and what He did at Calvary for us.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no
more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Everything
mentioned here in this verse is the result of sin. God intended us to live
forever, but sin entered the world as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve.
With the introduction of sin comes sorrow, pain, and crying, but with God in
control and all evil removed from earth there will only be peace and happiness.
Even the former life we lived will be erased from our minds because that life
was a life surrounded by sin, a life that we struggle in serving Jesus. Paul
even struggled with his old life, he cries out, why do I do the things I hate,
but the things I want to do I don’t practice. Romans 7:15 For what I
am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do. So not only will the present heaven and earth be
renewed, we will be renewed also. We are transformed into a new creature when
we believe with our heart and not our mind, but we will undergo a greater
transformation when we receive our glorified bodies.
5 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."
“He”,
of course refers to God Almighty, and what He states here reinforces the
previous verse stating that “former things will passed away”. God is saying
“all things” here, the earth, heaven/sky, and individuals, and we can put our
trust in this because His words are “faithful and true”.
6 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 fountain of
the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
And
He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End: God is proclaiming here that it is finished. What
He started He finished. Finished was heard when all things were created,
finished was heard at Calvary, and now finished is heard for the last time
which closes all Prophecy.
I
will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts; This fountain of living water is a fountain of
life that one is renewed in when they give their heart to Jesus Christ. This
water sustains a spiritual life for eternity. Jesus makes reference to
this living water in John
4:14; John 7:38, in
connection with eternal life and life in the Holy Spirit. This water is further
described in Revelation 22:1 and a similar offer of God’s grace to him who spiritually thirsts is repeated in Revelation 22:17.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he shall be My son.
He
who overcomes; He who overcomes is speaking of anyone that comes
to the realization they are living a life separated from God because of the
inherited sin nature. When a person comes to realize this fact and repents of
their life and asks Jesus into their life to help them to battle the sin
nature, they are saved and thus declared overcomer’s. We cannot have victory
over our sin nature by our own power. We need the Holy Spirit to come live in
our heart to have victory.
Shall
inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son; When a
person overcomes the sin nature they become a child of God and deemed a joint
heir with Christ. Romans
8:17 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.
8 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."
As
studied in earlier lessons the second death is a spiritual death, a death to
those that never had a spiritual birth meaning Born Again. This involves all
that live a life of unbelieving, abominations, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, all liars, out of wedlock sex, pornography, praying to any person,
place, or thing other than God, hostility, stealing, jealousy, outbursts of
anger, selfish ambition, gossip, homosexuality, greed, drunkenness, wild
parties, cursing & using God’s name inappropriately, etc. Romans 1:22-32; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians
5:3-7. This second death is one we don’t want and one we
don’t want to see loved ones or anyone to have, and that is why it is so
important to be witnesses for Jesus Christ and bring people to Him so they can
be saved.
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New
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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Colossians 1:16 For by Him all
things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things
were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23
for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with
your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I
am a sinner. I confess my sins to you; I
am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my
sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from my
sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right
now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son
of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.” I believe this and have faith you will make a
new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead
me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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