January 5, 2015
Revelation 21:1-5
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
John was on the Isle of Patmos where he was exiled because of his strong Christian faith and testimony. It was a hard life on that rocky outcropping of an island off the coast of Asia Minor. But God was with him, and John was privileged to see and record the visions Jesus gave to Him. That record is the book of Revelation. And at the end of that book, God gave the elderly apostle the great vision of the “…New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…” (Revelation 21:2). With and in that New Jerusalem, there were a lot of new things, including “…a new heaven and a new earth…” (Revelation 21:1). But I want to concentrate on what Jesus said in verse 5: “Behold, I make all things new.” Here is the whole scripture from which these previous quotes are taken, Revelation 21:1 through 5:
And 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, and 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, and 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.”
“Behold, I make all things new.” This is for the future, after the Lord has returned to rule for a thousand years in the Millenium as “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). And even after that righteous rule by God Himself, it says in Revelation 20:7 through 9:
…Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the na-
tions…to gather them together to battle [against God in what is called the bat-
tle of Gog and Magog]….They went up on the breadth of the earth, and sur-
rounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down
from God out of heaven and devoured them.
No wonder Jeremiah exclaimed in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ”
God knows it! It is recorded in John 2:24 and 25: “…Jesus…knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” So what does the Lord do about the deceitful heart – the sin nature – that lies in the breast of all people? He gives us the opportunity to let Him Make All Things New in our lives that are too often messed up because of sinful choices! Paul speaks of this in II Corinthians 5:17, when he says, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The potential is then available to live in the newness of life God offers us, what Jesus described as “…life more abundant…” in John 10:10. I say potential because we still have the old sinful nature as well as a new creation within us, and we choose day by day which one we will have guide us.
Now notice at the beginning of the last paragraph I said “He gives us the opportunity to let Him Make All Things New….” It is voluntary on our part to LET Jesus lead in our lives! He is a gentleman! He will only come into a life if that one voluntarily opens the door when He knocks! (see Revelation 3:20). But the alternative to letting the Lord come in and Make All Things New is to continue on in life with a natural inclination toward the one – Satan – who is described by Jesus in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
If you need a change for the better in your life, open the door to Jesus Christ! You may say, “I have tried to change before – even many times before – and nothing seems to make a difference!” But take notice: He is the One who will one day announce “Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5). If He can take a world that is so messed up and make it a place where “He will dwell….And…will wipe away every tear…[and] there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain…,” then, indeed, He can certainly Make All Things New in your life!