TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:5-8)
CONGRATULATIONS! Over the last 66 days we have read a theme passage from every one of the sixty-six books of the Bible. You now have an overview of God’s word, the story of redemption through Jesus Christ the Son of God. The theme of the Old Testament might be called “The Need for Redemption” as we see God’s perfect creation perverted with sin, along with the repeated failures of humanity.
But, in the New Testament, hope is revealed. Man could not get to God due to his sin, so God came to man in Jesus Christ, God incarnate. Jesus taught, healed, died to pay for our sins, and rose again defeating death for the whole world. And, all who receive Him are saved from judgment, forgiven from sin, and given eternal life with God in heaven forever.
The book of Revelation is a vision to the apostle John that tells the rest of the story, as God unfolds the future before our eyes. In our scripture passage for today, God declares the He is making everything new. Also, the Lord directs John to write this message for all to know. Jesus is Lord of everything from beginning to end. He gives His living water of salvation as a gift to all who receives, adopting them into His family. They will be born again!
But beware! The faint of heart, the unbelieving, and those who practice evil will not participate in God’s redemptive plan. They will not be born again but will experience a second death in a lake of fire. Make no mistake about it. If you are born only once you will die twice, and at this second death you will be consigned to judgment. But, praise the Lord, if you are born twice, you will only die once and will go to live with the Lord in a place of glory prepared by Jesus just for you!
Comments