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.”
Comment: Nastiness from that which we gloss over as ‘my human-ness’ to the extremes which we ‘all’ hate has finished. The ‘Bride of Christ’ has been made fit for her Husband, Jesus. Only here the ‘Bride’ includes the dwelling place and all the surrounds. There isn’t an old place which needs renovating but ‘a new heaven and a new earth‘. The promise which Jesus promised as He was preparing to go to the Cross is fulfilled completely. The angelic statement given to the shepherds ‘I bring you good news of great joy.……And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”‘ A promise of joy and peace which the skeptics have been able to laugh at because the world is anything but peaceful now. And certainly joyfulness is patchy and mixed with much much sorrow and sadness in the intervening years between His being born and His coming again as Victor and Judge! At the end of the book both of Revelation and the Bible we read as Jesus is speaking “Surely I am coming soon.” With the author I add…..
Prayer: ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’
As I read it! 