Achieve victory in 2025 by grounding your life in God's unchanging character.
Revelation 21:5-11, 22-27 (NIV)
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.”
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
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22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 37: The Last Judgment (Part 2)
The evil ones will be convicted
by the witness of their own consciences,
and shall be made immortal—
but only to be tormented
in the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels.
In contrast,
the faithful and elect will be crowned
with glory and honor.
The Son of God will “confess their names”
before God his Father and the holy and elect angels;
all tears will be “wiped from their eyes”;
and their cause—
at present condemned as heretical and evil
by many judges and civil officers—
will be acknowledged as the “cause of the Son of God.”
And as a gracious reward
the Lord will make them possess a glory
such as the heart of man
could never imagine.
So we look forward to that great day with longing
in order to enjoy fully
the promises of God in Christ Jesus,
our Lord.
Summary
It's easy to miss it in the midst of John's best efforts to describe the fantastic beauty of the new heaven and earth, but right here at the beginning of our passage, we're given tremendous insight into the character and attributes of our Triune God:
He's seated on the throne, fully sovereign and in control of all that comes to pass;
All is done; Everything that God set out to accomplish will be completed when He makes all things new;
He is the Alpha and the Omega - the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the Beginning and the End. This is the second of three times John records this in Revelation, and very consistent with the famous phrase with which John opens his gospel;
He gives the water of life without cost to those who are thirsty;
He relates to us, His people, both paternally and covenantly. He will be our God, and we will be His children;
He Himself will be the temple for His people;
His glory is brighter than the light of the sun. Until this point, no man had ever been able to survive full exposure to God's glory, but in the new heavens & earth, we will live each day by its unfiltered light;
The names of His children are written in His book of life, signifying those who will enter into the Holy City. They are the ones who, by God's grace, are victorious and will inherit all this.
Dig Deeper
How would you describe the indescribable? That's the challenge John once again finds himself tasked with in conveying the details of the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. John does the best he can, comparing it to the most beautiful jewels and gems that were known at the time.
But it's the way the angel with John describes this city that intrigues us today. He refers to it as the bride, the wife of the Lamb. This isn't the first time the Bible has mentioned the bride of Christ, but here it expands the image. Not only is the Church the bride of Christ, but it's also a city. "Apocalyptic metaphors are mixed and show little inclination to conform to any literalistic system of interpretation" (Mounce).
Notice in this chapter how the bride of Christ - that is, the Church - is set against the harlot of Babylon, whose followers will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. If you're wondering why it is that you ought to keep a healthy separation between you and the people of this world, let that be a good reminder!
As a city, the bride of Christ "is the community of men who have fellowship with God. Nothing in the entire universe is as glorious as this fellowship with God, so that He tabernacles with us and we are His own. Moreover, as the symbol of the Holy City so clearly indicates, this communion is holy and lasting and it is enjoyed by a countless multitude... The Church of the future is described here, and also the Church of the present, mainly as a shadow of what is to come" (Hendriksen).
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you look forward to a new year, you will strive for victory - overcoming sin and death in Christ alone;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 21
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