"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away..." Revelation 21:1
For the past weeks I have been sharing parts of Revelation 21 and a few verses just before that chapter. We had just been sharing with a group on the book and
that chapter was just breathe taking. It is so full of hope...any time I read
through it, it just lightens me up, gives life to my soul, makes my heart leap,
my spirit is filled with joy; so much to say..
The chapter talks about "the holy city, New
Jerusalem", which will descend out of heaven from God. It is too
beautiful to perceive. It is full of light, that there is no need of light, nor
is there night. It also made of and adorned with precious stones, as well as
pure gold that is as clear as crystal.
The best part is that God Himself will live with us. Can you imagine
that, God with His glory will be living among men! Wow! That is quite something.
God will also wipe away every tear from our eyes, that is, He will comfort us.
I can say that we are already experiencing this. The minute that a person
believes in Christ and receives Him in His life, the Holy Spirit also comes and
dwells in Him. Now "the fruit of the
(Holy) Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" Galatians
5:22
So it's a fruit, not fruits; so believers of Christ, born
again persons, already have all these as one fruit present in their spirit.
There is a certain kind of peace and joy, that comes or manifests even in times
of sorrow. Thereby we are already experiencing the comfort of God, when we live
in the truth. There shall also "be
no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4.
We are talking about everlasting life and joy all our days;
isn't that just beautiful?!. Right now we experience physical death, though we
live in hope even in death because we have the knowledge and faith in where we
are going. It is important to also note that eternal life begins the minute a person becomes born
again. Isaiah 65 also speaks of the same, "the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her"19;
"No more shall an infant from there
live but a few days"20
Through the chapters Christ emphasizes that He "will give of the fountain of the water
of life freely to him who thirsts." That eternal life beginning from
today is free to everyone who receives it. God is not holding it back, nor is
there any more work that needs to be done for us to receive the gift of
everlasting life. Christ already did it, now it is up to us to receive it and
start living the life in abundance.
This begins the minute we believe in our hearts and confess
with our mouth that He is the Son of God and He has been resurrected by the
power of God Romans 10:9. It is no
longer up to God, but up to us, He has already given. Now we make the choice to
receive. God is ready to embrace us when we turn to Him; He calls unto you and
me. Lastly, the angel asks John not to seal "the words of the prophecy of (the) book, for the time is at hand." 22:10. Salvation is free.
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