BIBLE MEDITATION:
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.” Revelation 21:5
ENCOURAGING WORD:
I’m going to start out this message by rebuking a major belief in the denominational churches, specifically, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (Lutherans). Both of these sects of Christianity claim that all the events that were written in Revelation have already been fulfilled. First thing I need to ask is this, in the last two thousand years, when did God make all things new. One may say He made things new after Noah’s flood, but when the waters receded, it was till the same world that got flooded. When God says He will make all things new, He is referring to the way things will be after the Millennial Kingdom age. Those that believe all things have already been fulfilled in Revelation, please enlighten me as to when the one thousand year Millennial Kingdom took place.
I’m going to read the first eight verse in Revelation 21.
Revelation 21:1-8; “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. Then I, John, 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 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. 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.” 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 fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. (The thirst that is being referred to here is the thirst for the Word of God) 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.”
When The Apostle John was taken up into heaven, the first thing he saw was the New Heaven and a New Earth. He is saying that the first heaven and earth have passed away. In the last six thousand years, I don’t recall a new heaven and a new earth apart from the one that we have been living in since the beginning of creation. This verse alone defies the belief that all the prophecies of Revelation have been fulfilled. The next verse is the icing on the cake, Also there was no more sea. Last time I checked, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans along with all the other oceans are still there.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and He pronounced that everything was very good, Genesis 1:31; “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Remember, Good to God means perfect in every way.
Yet mankind sinned and darkened God’s creation. The world was “good” no longer. From Genesis 3 through Revelation 20, the earth and everyone in it experiences sin and death. Romans 5:12; “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Yet there will be a magnificent change after the “Great White Throne Judgment.” After sin is eternally judged, which will take place at the “Great White Throne Judgment.” God promises a “New Heaven and a New Earth” where suffering, pain, sin, and death cease to exist for all eternity. This future creation gives believers hope and affects our lives on earth as we eagerly await for this promise to be fulfilled: “Behold I make all things new!
In Revelation 21, John recounts seeing the new heaven and new earth. He sees a magnificent Holy City, where God dwells among His people. It is here that God promises to wipe every tear from His people’s eyes. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. Finally, all creation will be free from the reign and effects of sin. After observing all this, John sees Jesus seated on the throne declaring, “Behold I make all things new.” This new heaven and earth is what believers long for, along with all creation.
Romans 8:19; “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. When we (The Born-Again Believers) trust in God for salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells us, and we become a new creation.
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.”
The believer is no longer bound by sin; we become new creations, able to please God and live in His ways.
Galatians 2:20; sums up our newness well: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
No longer do we live for ourselves, but we live for the One who is life. John 1:3-4; “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” A transformation occurs in those who surrender to God, and of then it can also be said, “Behold I make all things new.”Becoming a new creation affects the way we live. God’s Word reminds us to put off our former, sinful ways of life.
Ephesians 4:22–24; “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Colossians 3:9; “ Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” Instead of living in sin and for ourselves, we are called to; Colossians 3:10; “And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”
Regeneration happens at the moment of salvation, but sanctification continues as we grow in faith and in His likeness; 2 Corinthians 3:18; “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Some ways we grow are through studying God’s Word, praying, having fellowship with other believers, and suffering. “Behold I make all things new” is a statement that affects the way we live when we trust Christ for salvation. You may say, how can we grow in suffering? Here is what we read in; James 1:2-8; “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”
“Behold I make all things new” is a truth anticipated from the beginning. When Adam and Eve sinned, God gave glimpses of this promise as He distributed out judgment on sin and He promised a future Messiah. The prophet Isaiah declares that salvation is found in God and in God alone, and that He will certainly judge sin. He prophesied of the new heaven and new earth: Isaiah 65:17; “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;”
And the former shall be remembered no more or even come to mind. This sinful, depraved world is not God’s ultimate destiny for those who trust in Him, and we, like Paul, long for the time when God will “bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” Ephesians 1:10; “That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him.
Decay, destruction, death, and evil are all part of our lives on this earth. Even nature groans to be delivered from the curse; Romans 8:21-23; “Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
Yet Jesus’ declaration, “Behold I make all things new,” affords the hope that one day we will be free from the consequences and effects of sin and will live with Him in a new heaven and earth. This truth makes us live with eager expectation, seeking to know Him more, become more like Him, and make Him known. Our hopeful future is what changes how we live as we await Jesus’ making all things new.
When we read the verse in Romans 8:21-23, I can’t help but notice how the earth is indeed groaning. We are seeing an upheaval of unprecedented weather like never before. Let’s just take a look at Earth Quakes from 1900 to 2019 as an example.
From 1900 – 1960 Earth Quakes have increased from 152 in 1900 to 19639 in 1960. In 1948 there were only 560 Earthquakes. In 2020 there were 192204 Earthquakes. That equates to over 342 times the number of earthquakes since the establishment of the Nation of Israel. Since 1960 we climbed from 19639 – 1365822 in 2019. The statistics are similar for hurricanes and tornadoes as well. I would say that is clear evidence that the world is groaning just as the Bible says would happen in the end times. What is interesting if you follow Bible prophecy is the fact that Israel was regathered as a nation just as Jesus said would happen, which is further evidence that we are closing in on the last days of this dispensation as we now know it. Jesus also said that the generation that sees Israel regathered as a nation, would see all end time prophecy fulfilled.
Matthew 24:32-35; “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
The Fig tree is one of the symbols of Israel. To make this parable easier to understand, those that were born after May 14, 1948, will see all Bible prophecy fulfilled, providing we live a full life. Unfortunately, these verses are misinterpreted by the mainline denominational churches today because of the following reason.
Matthew 13:10-17; “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:‘ Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
That includes a lot of self-righteous, unlearned church leaders of today, which consists of most of those behind the pulpits of the American churches.
Here is what Jesus told Nicodemus, John 3:3-8; “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
You must be born again to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven and since the mainline denominations do not teach that you must be born again, they can’t understand the parables that were spoken of by Jesus Cgrist, so they allegorize them to mean something totally different from what the Bible has intended them to mean.
They don’t teach about the end times, and because of that, they aren’t preparing their congregations for what is coming soon. All Bible scholars that have studied Bible prophecy for the last seven decades are very aware of where we are on Gods prophetic calendar. Blindness has come to those who reject the truth, which once again, includes most of the church leaders of today.
Let me share with you the sequence of events that will lead to the “New Heaven” and the “New Earth.”
The end of the Millennium, also known as the culmination of the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, is a significant event described in the book of Revelation and other prophetic passages in the Bible. This period marks the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan and the ultimate defeat of evil, leading to the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom and the final judgment of all humanity. To explore this topic, I’ll examine key passages in the Bible that describe the end of the Millennium and its implications for believers and the world.
The Thousand-Year Reign of Christ;
Revelation 20:1-6; “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”
It’s obvious by these verses that all the prophecies of Revelation have not been fulfilled. If Satan has ever been cast into the bottomless pit, he must have had a very long chain, because there has never been a time of peace since the creation of the World, which has been six thousand years now.
The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years;
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. (This is speaking of the seven year tribulation period.) And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead (The Unbelievers) did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and Holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
The second death will be when they stand before Jesus and because of their rejection of Him, they will be cast into the Lake of Burning Fire for all eternity. This is the second death. Those who received Jesus as their Lord and Savior will not be present at this judgment.
The concept of the Millennium, a thousand-year period of Christ’s reign, is introduced in Revelation 20:1-6; like we just read. After the second coming of Christ, which happens at the end of the Seven Year Tribulation period, Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit, where he is confined for a thousand years or Hades to be more direct. During this time, Christ reigns on earth with His saints, who are resurrected to life and reign with Him as priests, sharing in His authority and glory.
The Final Rebellion and Judgment
Revelation 20:7-10; “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Just so you understand who the saints are, I’ll share these following scriptures with you. In the New Testament, the concept of sainthood expands to include all believers in Christ,( the born-again believers,) not just the people of Israel. Saints are individuals who have been sanctified by their faith in Jesus Christ and are part of the True Church. It has nothing to do with the canonized saints of Roman Catholicism. They are not the saints that this verse is referring too. They have their own process as to how they canonize saints. Nothing to do with the true Word of God.
1 Corinthians 1:2; “To the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours”
Paul writes to the Corinthians, addressing them as saints because they are sanctified in Christ Jesus. This broadens the definition of saints to include all believers who call upon Jesus.
Ephesians 1:1; ”Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:”
Similarly, Paul refers to the believers in Ephesus as saints, indicating that sainthood applies to all those who are faithful in Christ.
At the end of the Millennium, Satan is released from his prison (The Bottomless Pit) and deceives the nations that are present at this time, gathering them together for one last battle against God’s people. Revelation 20:7-10, as we just read, describes this final rebellion, as Satan marshals his forces to wage war against the saints and the beloved city that have descended from heaven. However, fire from heaven devours the enemies of God, and Satan is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. This decisive victory over evil marks the culmination of God’s redemptive plan and the final defeat of Satan and his allies. Side note: When Jesus first sets up His millennial Kingdom, it will be full of believers, but during the next thousand years, many will fall away from the truth just as what happen to the Jews over time. They are the ones that God will do battle with. He says it will be as the sands of the sea, which will be more than we can imagine. Even after living in a completely perfect environment, the evil heart of man still prevails even without Satan. This is what the next Bible verse declares;
Jeremiah 17:9; “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" For those that are told that man is generally good, read this verse again. Whoever tells you that man is generally good is calling God a liar. Be careful whose name you slander!
The Great White Throne Judgment
Revelation 20:11-15; “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Before God’s fire comes down from heaven, Revelation 20:11-15 describes the scene of the Great White Throne Judgment, where the dead, both small and great, stand before God to be judged according to their works. Books are opened, including the Book of Life, and those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. This solemn moment of judgment reveals the justice and righteousness of God, as every individual is held accountable for their actions and their response to the gospel message. Just so you understand, if you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will not be present at the “White Throne Judgement” because you will have nothing to be judged for. Because Jesus took your sins and nailed them to the cross you will be found innocent, and you will be sin free and Righteous before God. You will not be sentenced to “The Lake of Burning Fire” All those who rejected Jesus Christ will stand before Jesus at the “White Throne Judgement” and all their sins will be revealed, and they will be cast into the ”Lake of Burning Fire” for all eternity. If you choose to reject the truth, it dosn't matter what you think, truth is truth and its all going to come to fruition just as prophesied.
The New Heaven and New Earth
Revelation 21:1-4; “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. Then I, John, 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 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. 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.”
Following the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 21:1-4 depicts the vision of a new heaven and a new earth, where the former things have passed away, and all things are made new. God dwells among His people, wiping away every tear from their eyes and abolishing death, sorrow, and pain forever. This glorious vision of the new creation symbolizes the fulfillment of God’s promises and the restoration of all things in Christ, where righteousness reigns and God’s presence fills the earth. Hallelujah, Glory be to God!!!
Now, let me ask you a question. Where do you want to spend eternity based on the truth of the Word of God? Do you want to stand before Jesus at the “White Throne Judgment” or do you want to be absent from that event? This message should be taken very seriously, because we who are alive today will see all these things come to fruition if we live a full life. While you are still alive and breathing, you can make that choice. Once you breath your last breath here on earth, there will be no more hope for you. Side note: If you are under the belief that you can be prayed out of hell (or more commonly known as purgatory) you are being deceived. I’ll share this last verse with you and hopefully you will understand what this verse is saying.
Hebrews 9:27; “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” You either believe the Word of God or you believe the false doctrine of Roman Catholicism. Trust whom you will, Judgement will fall on those that reject the truth. No second chance! All I can do is share the Word of God that the Holy Spirit puts on my heart, the rest is up to you.
The last question for you to answer seriously is this, do you want to be present in the New Heaven and the New Earth. You will have no one to blame but yourself for where you end up.
I’ll end with this benediction: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God Bless and take care!
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