By James Riley Strange, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament, Samford University
Eternal Life
Revelation 21:1–8; 22:1–5
This is our last lesson on six terms commonly used by Christians: “holy,” “lost,” “salvation,” “faith,” “sanctified” and “eternal life.” Eternal life does not appear in these passages from Revelation. The idea, however, is there.
Jesus gave us the best-known reference to eternal life in John 3:16. The key to understanding it lies in the words “will not die.” Because those who believe in God’s Son do die, this “death” that believers do not suffer must be something else: a separation from God; a refusal to accept God’s righteousness; an exclusion from God’s presence.
“Eternal” life is the opposite of these things. It refers not only to quantity (never ending), but also to quality: being at one with God (“atonement”); being made right with God (“righteousness”/“justification”); existing in God’s presence.
The part of John’s vision we are reading focuses on the future, but this much is clear from the Gospel of John: Jesus says eternal life begins now.
Read Revelation 1–2 and 20–22 to understand the continuity of John’s vision.
We will live in a perfect place with God forever. (21:1–5)
John’s vision ends in the way Genesis began, with the creation of heaven and earth.
This new creation, however, will not suffer degradation as the first did, for rebellion against God will end. The sea, which God subdued but did not destroy in Genesis 1:1–10, is now gone.
Recall that in the Bible, the sea is often a terrifying element that God defeats. Its absence signals the end of enmity between God and His creation.
John’s vision is not of disembodied souls living in the sky but of God making His dwelling on the new earth with His people. The sages of Proverbs knew that God’s divine wisdom lived among His people (Prov. 1:20–33; 8:1–36), and in John’s Gospel, “the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). John the Revelator sees that God will one day dwell finally and fully with us.
Our eternity is based on our relationship with Christ. (21:6–8)
John saw this lake in 19:20 (see also 14:10). Those who “conquer” first appear at the conclusion of the letters in chapters 2–3.
The call is to remain faithful in the face of persecution, but as we learn in verse 8, other ways exist to show lack of faith.
John learns that faithfulness means not merely to confess what we believe; it is also visible in every moral decision we make.
We will reign with Christ forever. (22:1–5)
On the new earth, the new Jerusalem is the new Eden, with its flowing river branching into four rivers (Gen. 2:10–14) and the tree of life (Gen. 2:9; 3:22).
That it is made of precious metals and stones (21:18–21) has two implications.
- It is more beautiful than we can imagine.
- What we regard as precious now will be construction material then. We will no more adorn ourselves with gold and jewels there than we wear asphalt and concrete here.
Adam and Eve — and all their descendants — were not to live forever and so were expelled from Eden (Gen. 3:22–24). John learns that the expulsion is going to be reversed. God’s servants will live eternally, both endlessly and fully in God’s presence. Just as God first created people to “have dominion over” creation (Gen. 1:26–28) and to “till and keep” the garden (Gen. 2:15), they will also reign in the new Jerusalem with God and with Christ the Lamb. This is not merely about having power; it is about our wills finally and fully conforming to God’s will.
Thanks be to God that despite our past, this is the future He has prepared for us.
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