A Preview of What is to Come

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And 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 from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:1-8

In these eight verses near the end of Revelation, John gives us a beautiful preview of what the believer’s future holds, a taste of what God has in store for us. He lays out for us what he sees, clearly and concisely, so we can grasp the magnitude of what is to come. John knows that what he sees has the power to give us the eternal hope we need every single day as we live in this broken world.

He Will Make All Things New

John begins by explaining that God will not destroy what He has made and then rebuild it, but instead He will make them new. For those who are familiar with the Scriptures, this does not come as a surprise. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke of the renovation of creation that was to come (Isaiah 65 & Jeremiah 31-32). And of course, the concept of divine renovation is throughout the New Testament when talking about how we are new creations in Christ. In the same way, as Paul explains in Romans 8, God’s creation which groans in its fallen state, “will be set free from its bondage to corruption” just as we have been. The broken parts of creation, corrupted by sin, will be no more. They will be made new in perfection and holiness according to God’s design.

He Will Be with Us Forever

Then John tells us that not only will all things be made new, but God will once again dwell with us, He will be our God, and we will be His people. God’s desire to dwell with us is laced throughout the Scriptures. These exact words are prophesied in Ezekiel 37:27, and God sent His own son for this very purpose. And now John sees that just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, we too will enjoy untainted and unbroken fellowship with God. His presence with us will be permanent. And not only that, but even more, because we have been made new, we will have no other gods, our hearts will treasure only Him, and we will look to Him alone as our God.

He Will Wipe Away Our Tears

Again echoing the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah, John explains that this new world will be empty of all that breaks our hearts. He will rid it of all the pain and sorrow that sin brought into His creation. Our loving Father will remove all that makes us cry and all that kills, destroys, or hurts us. He will take it all away, ridding us of the need for tears. And not only that, but God Himself, with His loving hands, will wipe all our tears away. His love for us is bigger than we could ever imagine.

His Word is Trustworthy and True

Then there is a pause, almost as if God anticipated the doubt and unbelief we would have hearing these words from John. God knows how hard it is for us to fully believe and trust in His Word. And so, we are reminded here that God’s Word is always “trustworthy and true” and that God’s work is “done.” This is a call to us to BELIEVE. Not just to say, “yeah, yeah, I know someday it will all be better, and we will all be in heaven.” But instead, to really, truly, claim this as your future, as what you KNOW is going to happen. It's the one sure thing you can count on. We have been given this vision through John so that we will know that God’s purposes will come to fruition. And just as when Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), God’s work is sure. It can’t be changed; it’s irreversible!

He Will Give Us Living Water

At the end of this preview of what is to come, John clarifies who will live in the new heaven and the new earth with God by contrasting two types of people - those who thirst for God’s truth and are conquerors, and those who are cowardly and faithless, and instead live to gratify their sinful nature. The first are those who look beyond the things in this world, knowing those things will never satisfy, and instead look to God to satisfy their souls with His living water. They seek the inheritance of God that will never perish, spoil, or fade (1 Peter 1:4). They are conquerors because they put their faith in Jesus who conquered sin for them, as opposed to those who look to the things of this world to satisfy them and to give them an inheritance that is perishable. For them, it is final too, but instead of earning eternal life, they have earned the final death, as John wrote about in the previous chapter. John isn’t trying to end this beautiful vision on a negative note, but on one that emphasizes the reality and importance of what he is seeing.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if John were never given this vision? What if God never gave us any idea of what is to come? I can only imagine how threatened our hope and security in Christ would be. But the truth is God did give us this, and surely He gave it to us to produce in us steadfastness, hope, security, encouragement, confidence, perseverance, commitment, and faith. Think of all the broken things in your life that will one day be made new. Think of all the broken things in the lives of those you love, in the world around you, and what it will be like when it is made new. All that is sad and hard will be gone. God will be present with us as our only God. Our faith will be unwavering. This isn’t some theology that we tuck away as something we “know.” Instead, it is a truth that we must cling to every day as we seek to live for Him in this broken world. What does this passage mean to you today? I pray you will let the truth of what John saw point you to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, and to what He has done, is doing, and will do for you.