all things new – walklikejesus

The renewal of all things: this is the message of Revelation 21, our 25th study in the encouraging book. A recording of this study is available on the Shofar Youtube channel.

What do you deeply desire for the future, your future? What is your ultimate hope? If every problem is fixed, every desire is met, and once all things are restored again, what will your reality be like? How confident are you that this will happen?

This hope for God’s renewal of all things is the focus of John’s vision Revelation 21. His only invitation to the reader is to “behold”, to picture the beauty of God’s renewed creation.

A physical future. We are often tempted to think of life after this as only spiritual, eternally living a disembodied existence. We imagine floating on the clouds, enjoying the bliss of an unending spa while singing praises with the angels. We think that when Jesus returns, we will once and for all be rid of our sensual bodies and the earth, as though this material world is the root of the problem.

The idea that matter is inherently corrupted or “lesser than spiritual” comes from Greek philosophy. Yet the Bible teaches that God is the creator of our material world and that everything he made “was good”. Mankind he made with body and soul, breathing His very spirit into them, and affirmed them as “very good”. Then came the fall and the corruption of sin. Still, we are called to “glorify God in our bodies”, even in the most mundane things like “eating or drinking” (1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31). God is the one who gives us these material things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Our material world is not inherently the problem – the corruption of sin is, and that affects both our earthly and heavenly realms.

The first thing John notices of God’s great renewal is the continuity of our lives as we know it – that our eternal existence will be both physical and spiritual, lived out in “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1; compare Isaiah 65:17-25). God’s promise is the renewal of our physical and spiritual existence. So Paul’s cry for deliverance “from this [wretched] body of death?” (Romans 7:24-25) is not answered by being eternally free of a body. No, “when we see [Christ], we’ll be like him” – having the same resurrected body as he has. We don’t know much, just that our resurrected bodies will be “imperishable”, “glorious” and “powerful” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). Eternally free of corruption and at peace – as it was in the Garden.

Free of fear and flaw. The next thing John notices of this renewed creation is that “the sea was no more” (21:1). In this apocalyptic genre, John is not trying to say that the new earth will be one big continent without oceans. (Do I hear the surfers and divers sighing in relief?) As mentioned in a previous post, the sea in ancient literature represents everything mysterious and dangerous, all the hidden forces of evil. In stating that the “sea was no more,” John sees a world where there is no more evil, and therefore, there is no need to fear. It speaks of a life without terror, loss, and lack. John clarifies this by writing, “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (21:4) O, what peace awaits us!

A glorious city. [Read the full commentary of Revelation in Faithful to the End]

*Faithful to the End* is a simple commentary that helps make sense of the encouraging message of Revelation.

Quick links to full THE END Revelation Series posts

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“Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5)

It is quite fitting that we celebrate New Year’s Day. In its nature these celebrations rejoice in the faithfulness of God who has preserved us another year, so we can exclaim “Thus far the Lord has brought us!” (I Samuel 7:12). But more so it is a celebration of a fresh start, a clean slate, an unwritten book yet to be penned. There is the anticipation of the unknown, the mystery of the unpredictable – what does this year hold for us? How will things be at the end of this year? How will it change me?

A Fresh Start

It is necessary that we start this year with the reminder that our God is the God of a fresh start. He is the God of the second chance who never grows tired of his children but is always “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Jeremiah wrote “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23). New mercies every day. He is the One who lures the distant sinner closer by saying “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18). Indeed, our God is the God who wishes to put the past behind with the promise of a clean slate for a fresh start! His invitation is clear: “forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead… press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

A New Beginning

Our God is the God of New Beginnings. He is all-wise, all-mighty, and all-sufficient. Therefore over every situation we can confidently declare “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37; cf Jeremiah 32:27). He is the One who promised “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19). Our God springs life-giving water in a lifeless wilderness and creates a mighty army from dried bones (Ezekiel 37:1ff). Nothing is ever too far gone or too hard for him. He has the power and the wisdom to redeem the hopeless or to make something out of nothing. Even death does not mark the end since He himself rose from the dead and poured his resurrection spirit into our hearts (Romans 8:11). He is the reason we hope and don’t despair, the reason we confidently wait and smile in the face of impossible odds. Where there seems to be a dead end our God opens “a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15). Our God reconciles the divided, rejuvenates the fatigued, restores the broken, and revives the dead. He is the God of new beginnings! With him life goes on, forever.

New Things

Our God is the God of New Things. He is called Creator, the Beginning, and the Bright Morning Star announcing the coming new day. He is the God of new inventions, new solutions, new answers, a new way of life. As with the birth of a baby, new beginnings always starts with cries of pain and tears of desperation. These cries are not from a place of despair but in hopeful anticipation – joyful change is on the way. As the birth a baby represents the promise of new life, a clean slate and new potential, so every oppressive or painful situation holds the promise of this newness of life. And when God is at work in these painful circumstances he promises that it is certainly not in vain (Isaiah 66:8-9). This pattern we see repeated in the Scriptures.

The slaves cried out in Egypt – God’s answer for deliverance and a new way of life was in the birth of baby Moses; he embodied their answered prayer. Years later, in their promised land, time and again the oppressed Israelites cried out to God for deliverance, his answer was the judges Gideon, Sampson, Jephthah, Deborah. In a similar way the Bible talks of Samuel, David, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and, yes, Jesus our Redeemer. God’s plan for new things, new life, enters our world during painful times through a person whom he empowers. In a similar way, you are God’s answer for new things this year.

Your New Year

dont_look_back1 — “Don’t Look Back” by Erik Johansson

This is a New Year. The old is gone – it cannot be redone and it cannot be undone. But it is a good time to turn the page and start with a clean slate. Our God is the God of the Fresh Start. He is the God of the Fresh Start in whom we can find peace for a plagued conscience and forgiveness for a life wasted. Don’t despair – life is not over until he calls us home. Come reason with him; unburden yourself and find new mercies for this New Year. His steadfast love never ceases! What do you want to close the book on this year?

He is the God of the New Beginning, who creates a garden in the wasteland, an army out of dead bones and makes a way where there seems to be no way. Nothing is ever too hopeless for him to redeem. As long as your heart pumps he has good plans for you – plans of a glorious future. He heals bleeding hearts, mends shattered dreams and restores broken relationships. He truly makes all things new! What can he do for you and in you this year?

He is the God of New Things, the all-wise, all-mighty creator of all things who knows the end from the beginning. The Bible records how in the past he gave inspiration and plans for deliverance and warfare, for health, healing and sanitation, for designs and building of the ark, the tabernacle and temple, for arts, poetry and music, economic planning, supernatural providential sustenance and wise governance. What can he do though you this year?