He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5)
Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, envisions the end of all creation. Revelation concludes with Jesus’ promised return, upon which he once and for all conquers death, the devil, evil, and everything opposing or contradicting God’s perfect will and love. War, murder, lies, deception, greed, disease, injustice, discrimination, hate, violence, hunger terrorism, divisiveness, hatred, abuse, distrust, every form of evil come to an end. “Jesus will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” 21:4 Revelation is about more that an ending. It also envisions the beginning of a new creation. Jesus invites the faithful he has delivered from death and suffering, “Behold, I am making all things new (Revelation 21:5). We see the new Jerusalem, the city of God, its streets of gold, a river of life, and trees of life bearing fruit for the healing of the nations. There is no sun or moon because the Lord God is the light. He dwells with humans; they see his face. The temple’s walls are built of precious stones of brilliant color with large gates open wide for all to enter.
Jesus gives new resurrection bodies to those he raises to eternal life. Those once enslaved to sin are set free, made new, and embraced by the Lord. The earth is renewed. Jesus gathers up the pieces of a fallen and broken creation and makes something beautiful, everlasting, and new. No one can know what this new heaven and earth will be like (1 Corinthians 2:9). In large part, we know what it will be by what it will not be. There will be no pain, suffering, death, darkness, sickness, sadness, etc. Take all you have experienced of God and his goodness and multiply it by infinity! That’s what it will be like.
As we look at our world today, we may feel like every day is another daily edition of Muppet reporter Sam the Eagle’s “Everything Stinks.” But all of this will one day end, and on that day, we will say, “Everything is Great!” If we look with eyes of faith, we can see the new creation breaking forth into our present world. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:5). It is both now and not yet. We can see it in the birth of new lives, changing seasons, peace treaties, fights for justice, lives and communities restored, “random” acts of kindness, and a countless million ways. We can see the new creation coming in our own lives. You may be experiencing some stuff
that has gotten “really old”: loss, addiction, brokenness, sickness, unhappiness, loneliness, purposeless, low self-esteem, overwhelming anger, and regret. Fill in the blank. The Bible promises, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”(2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).
With Jesus, you can receive new healing, new forgiveness, new opportunities, new miracles of healing, new purpose, joy, love, and life; everything you need, a whole new you!
The song "Behold" by Mission House beautifully ties together this message. The song lyrics are extraordinary. Listen and worship God!
To hear more messages like this, please visit my blog at www.davidgira.com and check out my book, How Cancer Cured Me. I have author copies. Let me know if you'd like one.
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