Impressions from Revelation 21

SCRIPTURE: Rev. 21:3,4; 8; 19-21; 24
³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.^{[d] 21} The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

OBSERVATIONS: I was struck by various verses from this chapter. Here are my abbreviated observations: 1) vs. 3,4: The preciousness of the promise given to us as believers that one day there will be no more sorrow, no sin to mar the sweetness of life, no pain of any kind is something I count on, marvel at, and am comforted by. 2) vs. 8: The fact that God lists being cowardly as one of the sins in the same list with sexual immorality, idolatry, lying, and occult practices is rather amazing to me. But when I consider that fear (and by extension, the cowardice it produces if we let ourselves be controlled by it) is the opposite of faith, it becomes more understandable. Cowardice is, viewed that way, a form of idolatry, since it is a lack of trust in the Lord. 3) vs. 19-21: This description of heaven really appeals to me since I am a lover of jewels. I know what most of these are and have had the privilege of viewing these gemstones under a high-powered microscope. They are as fascinating and beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. The inclusions in most stones actually look like a beautiful universe of stars and galaxies when you look at the inside of them. I am looking forward to being there in heaven! A woman can never have too much beautiful jewelry to look at. There, I will be living in it! 4) vs. 24: We are made in God's image, and because of that, we bring "splendor" into the holy City that we will be a part of. How incredible is that! We who are fallen humans will receive the fullness of our redemption and will actually add to the splendor of heaven. Given the ornate description preceding this verse, that is astounding and wonderful.

APPLICATION: No matter what happens to me here on earth, whatever pain and sorrow or suffering I must endure, the surety of what I will receive in heaven is reward and comfort enough for me to not give up and to praise God through it all. He has indeed made "great and precious" promises to me. Jesus told us that he goes to "prepare a place for us", and my, what a place it is! I must keep my "eyes on the prize" and meditate on these things with regularity.

PRAYER: Oh my dear Lord, how great is your destiny for me! How wonderful that you have lavished on us such beauty and such richness. But the greatest thing of all is your promise that when we are with you in heaven there will be no more pain or sorrow. I am so grateful that you will make all things new! May I keep these things in mind always; especially when life here on earth gets difficult. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.