DAY 5: GOD CHANGES EVERYTHING

READ

REVELAT I O N 2 1 : 1 - 5
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

CONSIDER

If there’s one thing people agree on, it’s that the world desperately needs change. No matter where you are on the spectrum of politics and economics, there is a
universally shared discontentment with the present state of things. Right now, Americans are living in one of the richest moments in human history. We’ve got
more technology and medicine than ever before. Yet, depression and despair continue to trend upwards. The world desperately needs change.

The Bible agrees the world needs change. We live in an age the apostle Paul refers to as the “sufferings of this present time” in which we long to be set free from “bondage to corruption.” Things are not as they should be. The world is sinful and cursed and we long for it to be finally and fully restored.

When John is given a vision of the future by God, he uses the word “new” four times to describe it. He refers to what he sees as a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. Then, he records Jesus as announcing, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The first heaven and earth have been wholly transformed by the present pronouncement of earth’s great king.

This isn’t the first time in the Bible where we are told that God is making things new. Even now, “if any man is in a Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). God is
already changing people. God’s power is presently at work transforming people through the power of the gospel as Christ is proclaimed. But John sees a point in
the future when the entire universe will be finally and fully transformed.

This new world has to descend. It comes as a gift to be received, not an achievement attributed to any human skill. In fact, the only person referenced in this entire vision is the One who sits on the throne. It is his voice and his presence which is what differentiates the new earth from the first earth. The entire city is a temple, where God dwells among the residents.

Because of God’s presence, everything is changed. This new world which John sees is much different than our present world. It is tearless, endless, and painless. It is free from all the things that rob our present world of joy. In this new world, there are no more reasons to cry, no more funerals, and no more suffering. God is in the change business. He changes a sonless man named Abram into the father of a multitude. He changes an enslaved prisoner named Joseph into the ruler of Egypt.
He changes a persecutor of the church named Saul into his apostle to the Gentiles.

We should not be surprised when we discover that one day he promises to change everything. But we need the reminder that true change comes when God makes his presence known. The same God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, will one day send a new heavens and new earth in which his Son is undeniably central.

Jesus is central in eternity. And when people interact with the church today, it should be undeniable that Jesus is central among us. It is easy to make church about our worship, our offerings, and our activities. But in the end, everything will be fully changed because God will be fully present.

Our generosity doesn’t change anything. God is the one who changes things. As Christians, we believe that strict fasting, earnest praying, and sacrificial giving are not wands we wave to change the world. Rather, they are ways that we “seek first the kingdom of God” and ask the king to make his transforming presence manifest in the world today.

We are right to lament the present condition of the world and long for its consummation. John was given this vision to share with the church that they would be encouraged to persevere amidst their present sufferings. In a world haunted by the effects of sin everywhere we look, we need this same encouragement.

Write it down. The king is coming. And when he comes, all things will be made new.