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SERIES: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WEEK 82

TITLE: TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

TEXT: REVELATION 21:5-8

INTRODUCTION: (1) THERE ARE ONLY TWO CATEGORIES OR GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN OUR WORLD TODAY AND THROUGHOUT REDEMPTIVE HISTORY IN GOD’S SIGHT.

* GOD ALMIGHTY WHO KNOWS THE HEART SEES ONLY TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE, BELIEVERS OR UNBELIEVERS, SONS OF GOD OR SONS OF SATAN.

** NOW THAT MAY APPEAR TO BE OVER SIMPLIFYING THINGS, BUT IN REALITY, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, AT THE END OF TIME, IN ETERNITY FUTURE, ALL PEOPLE WILL BE IN ONE OF TWO PLACES, THE NEW JERUSALEM-HEAVEN OR IN THE LAKE OF FIRE-ETERNAL HELL.

*** IN FACT, IN OUR TEXT TODAY, WE WILL SEE PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN INHERITANCE IN WHAT WILL BE ALL NEW, A NEW HEAVEN, A NEW EARTH, A NEW JERUSALEM, AND PEOPLE WHO WILL HAVE AS THEIR INHERITANCE THE LAKE THAT BURNS WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE WHICH IS THE 2’D DEATH.

**** NOW ALTHOUGH THERE ARE ONLY TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN OUR TEXT AND IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE, THESE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE ARE IDENTIFIED BY MANY DESIGNATIONS.

1. FOR EXAMPLE BELIEVERS ARE CALLED CHRISTIANS, BRETHREN, SAINTS, THE ELECT, AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST, HEIRS, THE RIGHTEOUS, SHEEP, DISCIPLES AND CHILDREN OF LIGHT TO NAME A FEW DESIGNATIONS OR TITLES OF A TRUE BELIEVER.

* AND IN CONTRAST UNBELIEVERS ARE CALLED GOATS, THE UNRIGHTEOUS, DOGS, BLASPHEMERS, UNLOVING, HATERS OF GOOD, LOVERS OF PLEASURE, SLANDERERS, INVENTORS OF EVIL AND GOSSIPS TO NAME A FEW OF THE ADJECTIVES AND SYNONYMS THAT DESCRIBE UNBELIEVERS.

** NOW AS WE COME TO OUR TEXT TODAY, WE HAVE SOME MORE DESIGNATIONS FOR BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS.

*** FOR A BELIEVER IS ONE WHO “OVERCOMES” IN V. 7, BELIEVERS ARE GIVEN THE TITLE, “MY SON” IN V. 7 AND IN V. 6 BELIEVERS ARE DESCRIBED AS ONE “WHO THIRSTS.”

**** BUT IN CONTRAST, UNBELIEVERS ARE CALLED 8 DIFFERENT THINGS IN V. 8.

2. THEY ARE CALLED THE COWARDLY, THE UNBELIEVING, THE ABOMINABLE, MURDERERS, IMMORAL PERSONS, SORCERERS, IDOLATERS AND LIARS.

* NOW WHAT A CONTRAST. BUT BASICALLY WHAT WE WILL SEE IN REVELATION 21:5&8, THAT EVERYTHING IS NEW, THAT THE PURPOSES OF GOD HAVE COME TO FRUITION AND WHOM WILL INHERIT THE NEW JERUSALEM WHICH IS HEAVEN, THE CAPITAL CITY OF HEAVEN, AND WHOM WILL BE IN THE LAKE OF FIRE.

** SO THE QUESTION IS ANSWERED TODAY, WHOM WILL BE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM AND WHOM WILL EXPERIENCE THE 2’D DEATH?

*** THUS I’VE TITLED THE MESSAGE TODAY, TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE.

**** AND UNDER THAT TITLE WE’LL LOOK AT 3 THINGS AS WE WORK THROUGH REVELATION 21:5-8.

3. NO. 1 THE PROCLAMATION BY THE ONE SITTING ON THE THRONE, VV. 5&6A; NO. 2 THE PROMISES BY THE ONE SITTING ON THE THRONE, VV. 6B&7; AND NO. 3 THE PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM, V. 8.

* SO WE’LL LOOK AT THE PROCLAMATION, THE PROMISES AND THE PUNISHMENT UNDER THE TITLE OF TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE.

** AND WITH THAT OUTLINE TO DIRECT US AND GUIDE US, LOOK AT REVELATION 21:5 PLEASE WHERE WE’LL START TO SEE OUR FIRST POINT TODAY, THE PROCLAMATION.

I. THE PROCLAMATION, (READ V. 5)

A. NOW THE ONE WHO MAKES THE PROCLAMATION HERE IS THE ONE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE.

* AND IF YOU RECALL FROM OUR STUDY OF REVELATION, THE THRONE HAS BEEN A FOCAL POINT, A REPEATED WORD AND SCENE FOR US, USED 42 TIMES IN REMINDING US OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, RULE, POWER, AUTHORITY AND MAJESTY.

** THE THRONE IS THAT REPEATED SPIRITUAL POP-UP THAT SHOULD BRING PEACE AND REST TO THE BELIEVER IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS AND GOD’S WRATH BEING EXERCISED IN THIS BOOK.

*** WELL THE THRONE OF GOD TAKES CENTER STAGE HERE AGAIN AND THE ONE WHO SITS ON IT SPEAKS.

**** NOW THE ONE WHO SITS ON IT IS NOT IDENTIFIED AND CAN EITHER BE GOD ALMIGHTY, THE FATHER OR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

1. AND THE THRONE SITTER IS THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

* AND IN REVELATION 22:12&13 THIS PERSON IS CLEARLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHERE IT SAYS:

V. 12 – “BEHOLD, I AM COMING QUICKLY, AND MY REWARD IS WITH ME, TO RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO WHAT HE HAS DONE.

V. 13 – I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.”

** AND AGAIN, CLEARLY THIS IS CHRIST.

*** AND IN THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION IN CHAPTERS ONE VERSE 8 THIS TITLE IS USED TO SPEAK OF CHRIST ALSO.

**** REVELATION 1:4-8 –

V. 4 – “JOHN TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES THAT ARE IN ASIA: GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE, FROM HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME, AND FROM THE SEVEN SPIRITS WHO ARE BEFORE HIS THRONE,

V. 5 – AND FROM JESUS CHRIST, THE FAITHFUL WITNESS, THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD, AND THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH. TO HIM WHO LOVES US AND RELEASED US FROM OUR SINS BY HIS BLOOD –

V. 6 – AND HE HAS MADE US TO BE A KINGDOM, PRIESTS TO HIS GOD AND FATHER-TO HIM BE THE GLORY AND THE DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.

V. 7 – BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, AND EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; AND ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH WILL MOURN OVER HIM. SO IT IS TO BE. AMEN.

V. 8 – “I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA,” SAYS THE LORD GOD, “WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY.”

2. NOW HERE, THE ALPHA AND OMEGA IS THE LORD JESUS ALSO. SO AS WE GO BACK TO REVELATION 21:5, IT CERTAINLY APPEARS THE ONE ON THE THRONE IS THE LORD JESUS, THE ONE WHO WAS ON THE GREAT WHITE THRONE IN REVELATION 20:11.

* WITH THAT SAID, THE LORD JESUS MAKES A TREMENDOUS ENCOURAGING PROCLAMATION, “BEHOLD, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.”

** AND THE WORD “BEHOLD” REMINDS US THIS IS A SPECIAL PROCLAMATION, A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.

*** NOW LAST WEEK IN OUR STUDY OF REVELATION 21:1-4, WE LOOKED AT 5 NEW THINGS, A NEW HEAVEN, A NEW EARTH, A NEW JERUSALEM, A NEW NEARNESS AND A NEW ORDER.

**** NOW HERE IN V. 5 THE THRONE SITTER SAYS, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.

3. IN OTHER WORDS, EVERYTHING WILL BE NEW IN THE ETERNAL STATE. I MEAN IT’S NOT ONLY A NEW ERA, AN ERA THAT WILL BE FOREVER, BUT IT’S A FRESH START.

* THE LORD JESUS WILL MAKE, THE VERB MAKE OR MAKING DEPENDING ON WHICH TRANSLATION YOU HAVE LIT. MEANS TO FORM OR CONSTRUCT, TO CREATE A NEW MATERIAL REALM.

** MEANING WE HAVE A NEW ORDER, A NEW WAY OF LIFE AND A NEW UNIVERSE. CREATION IS NEW AS WE ENTER INTO THE ETERNAL STATE.

*** SO THE ONE ON THE THRONE SAYS, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.

**** AND THEN THE ONE WHO IS SEATED ON THE THRONE GIVES JOHN A COMMAND, “AND HE SAID,” AND THE HE IS OUR LORD.

4. AND HE TELLS JOHN TO WRITE, AND THE VERB WRITE IS IN THE IMPERATIVE MOOD WHICH MEANS THIS IS A COMMAND TO JOHN.

* NOW WHY WOULD OUR LORD HAVE TO GIVE JOHN THIS COMMAND, WHICH IS A COMMAND THAT OUR LORD HAS GIVEN JOHN 12 TIMES IN MY BIBLE BEGINNING IN REVELATION CHAPTER 1.

** FOR REVELATION 1:11 SAYS: SAYING, “WRITE IN A BOOK WHAT YOU SEE, AND SEND IT TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: TO EPHESUS AND TO SMYRNA AND TO PERGAMUM AND TO THYATIRA AND TO SARDIS AND TO PHILADELPHIA AND TO LAODICEA.”

*** AND THEN REVELATION 1:19 SAYS: “THEREFORE WRITE THE THINGS WHICH YOU HAVE SEEN, AND THE THINGS WHICH ARE, AND THE THINGS WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THESE THINGS.”

**** AND THEN TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN REVELATION 2&3, JOHN IS TOLD TO WRITE.

5. AND IN ESSENCE, THAT’S HOW WE HAVE COME TO HAVE THIS GREAT INSPIRED BOOK OF REVELATION. JOHN WAS WRITING DOWN WHAT HE SAW IN VISIONS THAT GOD GAVE HIM.

* JOHN HAD A DUTY TO PASS ON THE TRUTHS OUR LORD WAS GIVING HIM.

** SO WHY WOULD HE NEED TO BE REMINDED HERE ABOUT HIS RESPONSIBILITY?

*** WELL, JOHN IS SO ABSORBED, JOHN IS SO ASTOUNDED BY WHAT HE SEES, A NEW HEAVEN, A NEW EARTH AND A NEW JERUSALEM, THAT HE IS TAKEN BACK AND KIND OF IN AWE.

**** IT’S LIKE YOU SEE SOMETHING ASTOUNDING AND YOUR MOUTH OPENS, YOUR JAW DROPS, IT’S THE WOW FACTOR HERE.

6. SO JOHN IS OVERWHELMED HERE AND NEEDS TO GET BACK TO HIS JOB TO WRITE THE THINGS ABOUT WHICH HE SEES AND HEARS.

* HIS FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION NEED TO RETURN. HE NEEDS TO GET LOCKED IN AGAIN AND GET BACK TO POINT.

** AND I WANT TO REMIND YOU, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US WHEN WE GET OVERWHELMED WITH SOMETHING WE SEE OR HEAR OR HAPPENS TO US.

*** FOR SOMETIMES WE LOSE OUR FOCUS WHEN WE GET ABSORBED INTO SOMETHING OR ARE OVERWHELMED BY A SITUATION, MAYBE A TRIAL OR A HURT.

**** AND GET OUR EYES OFF CHRIST AND HIS WORD AND SLIP AND FALL OR BECOME BITTER.

7. AND AT THAT POINT WE NEED TO REFOCUS, PUT OUR ETERNAL GLASSES ON AND LOOK TO CHRIST AND HIS WORD TO LEAN ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS AND TRUST AND REST IN WHAT THE LORD IS DOING.

* WELL, JOHN NEEDS TO BE REMINDED ABOUT THAT, FOR NOTICE WHAT THE LAST PART OF V. 5 SAYS, “I WRITE, FOR THESE WORDS ARE FAITHFUL AND TRUE.”

** AND BELOVED, ALTHOUGH THE PRESENT EARTH AND HEAVENS WILL PASS AWAY, STILL GOD’S WORD WILL NOT PASS AWAY.

*** GOD’S WORDS ARE ALWAYS FAITHFUL AND TRUE, THEY ARE ALWAYS TRUSTWORTHY AND GENUINE, TRUE TRUTH.

**** AND ALTHOUGH HEAVEN AND EARTH PASSES AWAY, GOD’S WORDS ARE ETERNAL, READ MATTHEW 24:35, ISAIAH 40:8, I PETER 1:25 AND PROVERBS 30:5&6.

8. AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WE NEED TO CONTINUALLY GO BACK TO TRUTH WHEN LIES ARE UTTERED TO US BY OUR ADVERSARY AND PEOPLE NOT WALKING WITH GOD.

* AND WE NEED TO RUN TO THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WORDS OF GOD THAT DO NOT CHANGE AND STAND UPON THE PROMISES, BELIEVE THE PROMISES, AND REST AND DELIGHT IN THOSE PROMISES.

** FOR THOUGH OUR WORLD IS IN STORE FOR A RADICAL REFORMATION, THE WORD IS ETERNAL, FAITHFUL AND TRUE AND WILL NOT CHANGE.

**** AND THIS TRUTH IS GLORIOUSLY REINFORCED IN V. 6A, LOOK AT V. 6A WHERE WE’LL CONTINUE TO SEE OUR LORD’S WONDERFUL PROCLAMATION TO JOHN.

B. READ V. 6A. NOW OUR LORD SAYS SOMETHING ELSE TO JOHN WHICH HE CAN TAKE TO THE BANK THAT IS SECURE AND TRUE, AND THAT IS, “IT IS DONE.”

* NOW WHAT IS DONE? WELL, THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN REDEMPTIVE HISTORY, THESE WORDS MARK THE END OF REDEMPTIVE HISTORY.

** THESE WORDS SUMMARIZE ALL THAT NOW HAS BEEN COMPLETED TO BRING THE PURPOSES OF GOD TO FRUITION.

*** THESE WORDS, “IT IS DONE” LOOK FORWARD IN A TELESCOPIC WAY TO THE END OF GOD’S PURPOSE FOR EVERYTHING CONVERGING IN HISTORY TO THIS TIME, WHICH HAPPENED IN A TELESCOPIC FORWARD LOOK WAY IN JOHN’S VISION.

**** TO SAY IT ANOTHER WAY, THIS PHRASE EMBRACES EVEN A WIDER SCOPE THAN THE TRIUMPHANT WORDS OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS, “IT IS FINISHED.”

1. AND I’M NOT MINIMIZING THE CROSS, FOR THE CROSS BROUGHT REDEMPTION AND SALVATION FOR GOD’S ELECT, REDEMPTION WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND APPLIED.

* THE CROSS WAS THE FOUNDATION FOR REDEMPTION, BUT NOW HERE WE SEE THE FULFILLMENT IN THE FUTURE, THE CULMINATION OF REDEMPTIVE HISTORY.

** THE WORKINGS OF GOD HAVE NOW REACHED COMPLETION, THE GLORIOUS OUTCOME FOR THE REDEEMED OF CHRIST IS BROUGHT FORTH, ALL THINGS ARE NEW. THE END OR PURPOSES OF GOD HAVE COME TO COMPLETION AND WILL NEVER END.

*** THIS IS THE COUP DE GRACE, THE FINISHING OF GOD’S PURPOSE IN REDEMPTION, THE DECISIVE ACT OF FINISHING FOR THAT WHICH CREATION GROANS.

**** AND THIS END WILL NEVER END. FOR IT’S A BEGINNING OF THE WAY WE WILL WORSHIP AND LIVE FOREVER, THE ETERNAL STATE.

2. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE WOW FACTOR!

* AND THIS TIME IS TALKED ABOUT IN I CORINTHIANS 15:24-28 WHERE IT SAYS:

V. 24 – “THEN COMES THE END, WHEN HE HANDS OVER THE KINGDOM TO THE GOD AND FATHER, WHEN HE HAS ABOLISHED ALL RULE AND ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER.

V. 25 – FOR HE MUST REIGN UNTIL HE HAS PUT ALL HIS ENEMIES UNDER HIS FEET.

V. 26 – THE LAST ENEMY THAT WILL BE ABOLISHED IS DEATH.

V. 27 – FOR HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. BUT WHEN HE SAYS, “ALL THINGS ARE PUT IN SUBJECTION,” IT IS EVIDENT THAT HE IS EXCEPTED WHO PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION TO HIM.

V. 28 – WHEN ALL THINGS ARE SUBJECTED TO HIM, THEN THE SON HIMSELF ALSO WILL BE SUBJECTED TO THE ONE WHO SUBJECTED ALL THINGS TO HIM, SO THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.

*** NOW I’M NOT GOING CHARISMATIC ON YOU, BUT CAN YOU SAY HALLELUJAH! IT IS DONE, GOD IS ALL IN ALL, OF HIM, THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS!

**** ALL THINGS HAVE BEEN CREATED BY HIM AND FROM HIM, AND NOW GOD IS ALL IN ALL!

3. NOW PLEASE TUNE IN HERE. THESE PURPOSES OF GOD HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST, WHO IDENTIFIES HIMSELF IN THE NEXT PHRASE OF V. 6 IN AN UNMISTAKABLE WAY AS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

* IN FACT I AM, I AM, I AM, THE ALPHA AND OMEGA THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

** JESUS IS THE GREAT I AM, THE SELF EXISTENT ONE, THE ETERNAL ONE.

*** HE IS THE A AND THE Z AS ALPHA IS THE FIRST LETTER OF THE GREEK ALPHABET AND THE OMEGA IS THE LAST LETTER OF THE GREEK ALPHABET.

**** SO HE IS OUTSIDE OF TIME, HE IS OUTSIDE OF HISTORY, AND HE IS THE END OF HISTORY AS IT CONVERGES AT HIM, HE IS THE BEGINNING OF IT ALL AND THE END OF IT ALL, THE CREATOR OF TIME, AND HE WILL BE THERE IN THE END OF TIME WHEN THE OLD EARTH AND HEAVENS PASS AWAY!

4. AND AS THE A AND THE Z, THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE ALPHABET, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL TRUTH COMMUNICATED BY J. RITCHIE IN HIS COMMENTARY WHEN HE SAID AND I QUOTE:

* “WITHIN THE COMPASS OF THE ALPHABET LIES HIDDEN ALL THE WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A MAN TO KNOW. IN CHRIST GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF FULLY AND THE EXPLORATION OF THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL REQUIRE ETERNITY.” (END QUOTE)

** SO FOR ALL OF ETERNITY WE WILL SEE THE GLORY OF GOD AND OF CHRIST, AND ALTHOUGH CHRIST HANDS OVER THE KINGDOM TO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON WILL STILL BE A FOCAL POINT OF ETERNITY AS THE LAMB OF GOD IN REVELATION 22, “FOR THE THRONE OF GOD AND THE LAMB WILL BE IN IT” – IT, THE NEW JERUSALEM, IN REVELATION 22:1&3.

*** AND CHRIST WHO IS ON THE THRONE IN REVELATION 22:5&6A MAKES THESE WONDERFUL PROCLAMATIONS WHICH LEADS US TO 3 PROMISES MADE BY CHRIST BEGINNING IN V. 6B. LOOK BACK A V. 6 PLEASE.

II. THE PROMISES, (READ V. 6)

A. NOW REMEMBER ALTHOUGH JOHN SEES THESE THINGS IN A VISION FOR THE FUTURE, HE AUTHORS THE BOOK OF REVELATION IN ABOUT AD 95-96.

* SO NOW THERE ARE PROMISES TO PEOPLE FROM THIS DAY UNTIL NOW. AND WHO WILL LIVE IN THAT NEW ETERNAL STATE?

** ONE WHO THIRSTS FROM THE SPRING OF THE WATER OF LIFE.

*** AND THE PROMISE IS TO THOSE WHOSE SOULS ARE THIRSTY IS THEY WILL BE SATISFIED IN THE ETERNAL STATE.

**** FOR THOSE WHO ARE REDEEMED AND ENTER IN THIS NEW ORDER OF THINGS AND WHERE THE GLORIOUS OUTCOME OF GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN WILL TAKE PLACE ARE THOSE IN THIS LIFE NOW ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR HOPELESS LOST CONDITION AND BY GOD’S CALL THIRST AND CRAVE FOR THE ONE WHO SATISFIES THEIR SOUL.

1. AS JESUS STOOD ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES OR BOOTHS HE SAID: READ JOHN 7:37&38.

* IN THE BEATITUDES JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 5:6: (READ IT).

** AND BELOVED, THE METAPHOR OF THIRST IS A COMMON SCRIPTURAL ONE TO EXPRESS EARNEST LONGINGS THAT COME THROUGH A SENSE OF SPIRITUAL NEED.

*** ISAIAH 55:1A SAYS: “HO! EVERYONE WHO THIRSTS, COME TO THE WATERS;”

**** AND REVELATION 22:17 COMMUNICATES THIS SAME TRUTH WHERE IT SAYS: (READ IT).

2. AND BELOVED THE WATER HERE SYMBOLIZES ETERNAL LIFE. AND THOSE WHO THIRST FOR AND PASSIONATELY HUNGER FOR SALVATION ARE THE ONES GOD IS CALLING AND GOD WILL FREELY GIVE IT.

* BELOVED, HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN? YOU HAVE HAD A THIRST FOR CHRIST. AND THAT CALL AND THIRST COMES FROM ABOVE AND IS THE FIRST CAUSE OF OUR SALVATION, BUT IF WE THIRST, IT COMMUNICATES GOD’S WORK AND WHEN WE COME WE WILL BE SAVED, READ JOHN 6:37.

** AND THEN JOHN 6:44 SAYS: “NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS THE FATHER WHO SENT ME DRAWS HIM; AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP ON THE LAST DAY.”

*** SO IF YOU THIRST TODAY FOR CHRIST, COME, HE WILL SAVE YOU, THAT IS HOW WE VIEW IT FROM EARTH’S PERSPECTIVE, BUT FROM HEAVEN’S PERSPECTIVE WE COME BECAUSE GOD HAS ORDAINED IT AND HE PUTS A THIRST IN OUR HEARTS.

**** AND ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN SATISFY THAT THIRST. AND AT THE END OF V. 6 WE SEE THAT CHRIST GIVES THIS WATER FREELY, WITHOUT COST, GRATUITOUSLY, WITHOUT PAYMENT OR PRICE.

3. AS ROMANS 6:23 SAYS: (READ IT). ALSO READ EPHESIANS 2:8&9 AND TITUS 3:5.

* AND THE FIRST PROMISE IS, CHRIST WILL GIVE TO THE ONE WHO THIRSTS. AND THE 2’D AND 3’D PROMISES ARE FOUND IN V. 7. LOOK AT V. 7 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 7. NOW THE 2’D PROMISE IS, THE ALL THINGS NEW THAT IS AHEAD BELONGS TO THOSE WHO HAVE OVERCOME.

* AND THIS IS THE EIGHTH TIME THAT OUR LORD TALKS ABOUT OVERCOMERS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, THE FIRST SEVEN AS PROMISES TO EACH OF THE 7 CHURCHES IN ASIA MINOR IN REVELATION 2&3.

** AND AS WE STUDIED IN REVELATION 2&3, WE LEARNED THAT THE NEW JERUSALEM BELONGS TO THOSE WHO ARE OVERCOMERS.

*** FOR REVELATION 3:12 SAYS: “HE WHO OVERCOMES, I WILL MAKE HIM A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, AND HE WILL NOT GO OUT FROM IT ANYMORE; AND I WILL WRITE ON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD, AND THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMES DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD, AND MY NEW NAME.”

**** NOW THE QUESTION COMES UP AT THIS POINT, WHO ARE THE OVERCOMERS?

1. WELL, JOHN MAKES THIS CRYSTAL CLEAR IN HIS FIRST EPISTLE IN I JOHN 5:4&5, WHICH SAYS: (READ IT).

* NOW AN OVERCOMER IS ONE WHO EXERCISES SAVING FAITH IN THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST AND TRUE BELIEVERS PERSEVERE IN THEIR FAITH BY GOD’S GRACE, THEY OVERCOME THROUGH CHRIST.

** AND THE PROMISE IS, THOSE WHO DO THAT WILL INHERIT THESE THINGS. WHAT THINGS?

**** WELL, A NEW HEAVEN, A NEW EARTH, A NEW JERUSALEM, A NEW NEARNESS AND A NEW ORDER, AND ALL THINGS THAT WILL BE MADE NEW.

**** THE FUTURE WILL BE NEW AND BRIGHT FOR THOSE WHO OVERCOME.

2. BUT THE LAST PROMISE HERE AT THE END OF V. 7 IS VERY SWEET. FOR THE ONE WHO THIRSTS AND OVERCOMES, THE PROMISE BY CHRIST FOR THEM IS, “I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE WILL BE MY SON.”

* AND WHAT A GREAT AND EXCEEDINGLY PRECIOUS PROMISE.

** THE CREATOR AND SUSTAINER OF THE UNIVERSE, THE ALMIGHTY ONE AND TRUE GOD IS OUR GOD! WE SEE A CLOSENESS HERE BETWEEN CHRIST WHO IS GOD AND HIS SONS.

*** BELOVED, WE ARE THE SONS OF GOD, AND JOHN REMINDS US IN HIS GOSPEL AND HIS FIRST EPISTLE ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF THIS TRUTH.

**** FOR I JOHN 4:1 SAYS: (READ IT)

3. AND THEN IN JOHN 1:12&13, JOHN WAS INSPIRED TO SAY: (READ THEM).

* AND BELOVED, AS WE GO BACK TO THE END OF REVELATION 21:7 THE PHRASE “I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE WILL BE MY SON” EXPRESSES THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SAINTS AND GOD IN THE ETERNAL STATE. WHAT A JOYFUL, CLOSE, HOLY INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP IT WILL BE, WHAT A PROMISE.

** BUT IN CONTRAST TO THIS INTIMATE ETERNAL BLISSFUL RELATIONSHIP THAT THOSE WHO ARE THIRSTY FOR CHRIST AND WHO OVERCOME THROUGH CHRIST HAVE, WILL BE THOSE WITHOUT CHRIST. THEY WILL NOT BE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM.

*** AND THESE PEOPLE ARE TALKED ABOUT IN V. 8 WHERE WE’LL SEE OUR LAST POINT TODAY, THE PUNISHMENT. LOOK AT V. 8 PLEASE.

III. THE PUNISHMENT, (READ V. 8)

A. NOW THE CONJUNCTION “BUT” AT THE BEGINNING IN V. 8 GIVES US THE CONTRAST, THE NEVERTHELESS, THE DIFFERENT PLACE OF INHERITANCE.

* WE HAVE A CONTRAST BETWEEN GOD’S PEOPLE AND THOSE WITHOUT CHRIST, A CONTRAST OF INHERITANCES.

** AND HERE IN V. 8 WE HAVE 8 DESCRIPTIONS, 8 NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OR CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS OF THE UNSAVED, OF THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM OR HEAVEN.

*** AND THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE THAT WILL END UP IN THE LAKE OF FIRE, BUT 8 KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT WILL BE IN HELL, AS THEIR LACK OF FAITH IS REVEALED BY THESE PATTERNS OF THEIR LIVES.

**** BELOVED THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL LISTS IN THE N.T. THAT REVEALS THE FRUIT OR CHARACTERISTIC BEHAVIOR THAT IDENTIFIES UNSAVED PEOPLE EVEN THOUGH THEY PROFESS TO BE SAVED.

1. THE OTHER LISTS ARE FOUND IN REVELATION 22:15, I CORINTHIANS 6:9&10, ROMANS 1:28-32, II TIMOTHY 3:2-5 AND GALATIANS 5:19-21.

* AND SPECIFICALLY IN THIS LIST IN REVELATION 21:8 WHICH I’M GOING TO COVER QUICKLY, WE HAVE 8 KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT OVERCOMERS AND WHO BY THEIR BEHAVIOR SHOW THEY HAVE NEVER THIRSTED FOR THE WATER OF LIFE.

** AND NO. 1 IS THE COWARDLY, THE FEARFUL, THOSE WHO DENY CHRIST WHEN FACED WITH PERSECUTION OR OPPOSITION AND CONFLICT.

*** THEY PUT THEIR SAFETY, THEIR GOOD OVER CHRIST’S GLORY AND DO NOT OVERCOME. WHEN IT GETS HOT, THEY JUMP OUT.

**** BELOVED THIS WORD DEFINES COWARDICE AND TIMIDITY AND THAT IS THE PATTERN OF THEIR LIVES EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY PROFESS CHRIST.

2. NO. 2 ARE THE UNBELIEVING OR THE FAITHLESS. AND THEY DON’T EVEN BOTHER TO PROFESS CHRIST OR THAT THEY HAVE FAITH IN HIM, THEY WILL NOT BE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM.

* NO. 3 THE ABOMINABLE, THE VILE, THE DETESTABLE, AND THEY ARE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES ARE CHARACTERIZED AS BEING DEFILED AND POLLUTED AS THOSE CAUGHT UP IN WICKEDNESS AND EVIL. WE WOULD JUST FLAT OUT LOOK AT THEM AND SAY THEY ARE EVIL AND WICKED EVEN BY THE WORLD’S STANDARDS.

** NO. 4 IS MURDERERS, THOSE WHO TAKE ANOTHER’S LIFE AND MAY HAVE REFERENCE TO THOSE WHO MURDER BELIEVERS IN THE CONTEXT OF REVELATION UNDER THE BEASTS AUTHORITY.

*** AND OF COURSE AS IN ALL SIN, THESE ARE UNREPENTED SINS FOR PAUL AND DAVID WERE FORGIVEN OF MURDER AS THEY TURNED TO GOD IN REPENTANCE AND PAUL IN REPENTANT FAITH.

**** NO. 5 IS IMMORAL PERSONS TRANSLATED WHOREMONGERS IN THE KJV AND LIT. MEANS PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE HABIT AND PRACTICE OF THEIR LIVES ARE SEXUALLY IMMORAL.

3. THOSE WHO LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT MARRIAGE, HOMOSEXUALS, ADULTERERS, FORNICATORS AND AS HEBREWS 13:4 SAYS: (READ IT).

* SO GOD WILL JUDGE THOSE WHO LIVE IN ANY KIND OF IMMORALITY.

** NO. 6 IS SORCERERS, THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN MAGICAL ARTS, THE OCCULT, THOSE WHO USE DRUGS, POTIONS, SPELLS AND ENCHANTMENTS TO HAVE A HIGHER SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD OF DEMONS AND SATAN, AGAIN BEING INVOLVED IN THE OCCULT.

*** NO. 7 IDOLATERS, A WORSHIPPER OF FALSE GODS WHETHER THEY BE RELIGIOUS GODS OR MATERIAL GODS OR ANYTHING THAT GETS IN THE WAY OF THE TRUE GOD THAT WE SERVE, FOR WE CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS AS JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 6:24.

**** AND NO. 8, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ALL LIARS, THOSE WHO PRACTICE DECEIT, DECEPTION, WHO FLAT OUT DO NOT TELL THE TRUTH. AND IF YOUR LIFE IS CHARACTERIZED BY NOT TELLING THE TRUTH YOU ARE NOT SAVED.

* IN FACT, THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY ANY OF THESE 8 THINGS WILL NEVER ENTER THE HEAVENLY CITY.

** BUT THEIR PART WILL BE IN THE LAKE THAT BURNS WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE WHICH IS THE 2’D DEATH.

*** AND IN CONTRAST TO THE ETERNAL BLISS OF OVERCOMERS AND THOSE WHO THIRST FOR CHRIST, THE UNSAVED WILL SUFFER ETERNAL TORMENT IN THE LAKE OF FIRE AS WE HAVE STUDIED ABOUT THAT PLACE IN DETAIL IN REVELATION 19 & 20.

IN WRAP UP: (1) THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE, SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE AND SINNERS WITHOUT CHRIST.

* AND SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE ENTER INTO THE NEW JERUSALEM AND HEAVEN THROUGH THE ONE STRAIT GATE.

** SO ALTHOUGH THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THERE IS ONLY ONE DOOR, ONE WAY, ONE GATE AND ONE WAY TO BE SAVED.

*** THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE. JESUS SAID IN JOHN 10:9 (READ IT AND JOHN 14:6 – READ MATTHEW 7:13&14 ALSO)

**** NOW THE ONLY WAY INTO GOD’S HEAVEN IS THROUGH FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE BY GRACE ALONE.

(2) WHAT GROUP ARE YOU IN TODAY? ARE YOU ONE OF THE FEW THAT KNOW CHRIST OR ARE YOU HEADED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE DOWN THE BROAD ROAD OF ETERNAL JUDGMENT?

* IF YOU THIRST FOR CHRIST, COME TO HIM IN REPENTANT FAITH AND HE WILL BE YOUR GOD AND YOU WILL BE HIS SON.

** AND IF HE IS YOUR GOD TODAY AND YOU ARE HIS SON, REJOICE IN THE TRUTH THAT OUR GOD WILL MAKE ALL THINGS NEW AND IT IS DONE, IT IS FINISHED IN CHRIST. (LET’S PRAY)

V. 5 - AND HE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE

SAID, "BEHOLD, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW."

AND HE SAID, "WRITE, FOR THESE WORDS

ARE FAITHFUL AND TRUE."

V. 6A - THEN HE SAID TO ME, "IT IS DONE. I AM

THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND

THE END.

V. 6 - THEN HE SAID TO ME, "IT IS DONE. I AM

THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND

THE END. I WILL GIVE TO THE ONE WHO THIRSTS

FROM THE SPRING OF THE WATER OF LIFE WITHOUT COST.

V. 7 - "HE WHO OVERCOMES WILL INHERIT

THESE THINGS, AND I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE WILL

BE MY SON.

V. 8 - "BUT FOR THE COWARDLY AND UNBELIEVING

AND ABOMINABLE AND MURDERERS AND IMMORAL PERSONS AND SORCERERS AND IDOLATERS AND ALL LIARS, THEIR PART WILL BE IN THE LAKE THAT BURNS WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH."