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.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:1-8
Courage has always been required for one to follow Jesus faithfully. How much courage has depended, and does depend, on when and where one follows Jesus. There have been seasons in American history when it didn’t take much courage to follow Jesus because that was the mainstream way to live. Early in the life of the nascent church, it took enough courage to follow Jesus to give your physical life to be faithful to him. All of the Apostles, save one, were martyred. Only John the beloved was allowed to live out his full years and die a natural death,
Living courageously is the natural state of the person who follows Jesus, the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity. I purposely enhanced the name Jesus to incorporate all people of faith through all the ages, from Adam through today. It took courage for Noah to preach his message of repentance in the anti-diluvian era. It took courage for Abram to leave his home and pagan religion to follow the Lord. It took courage for Moses to leave Egypt and lead his people into the wilderness for 40 years. It took courage for Joshua to lead Israel to conquer the land and settle in Canaan. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Has courage been required to live my life as I have to follow Jesus? Yes. Not the kind of courage that resulted in being beheaded or sawn asunder, but courage nonetheless. Some may think these examples of being beheaded or sawn asunder as hyperbole. Not so. These persecutions and worse are common on the earth today outside the United States.
Revelation 21:8 was brought to my attention as I was reading this past week. I was struck by the description of those who will find their eternal portion in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur—three adjectives: the cowardly, the faithless, and all liars.
In our present culture, truth has little to no meaning. I believe that is a product of the postmodern worldview that has pervaded Western Civilization for the past few decades. In postmodernism, there are no absolute universal truths. There is only my truth and your truth which may be completely contradictory, and we are supposed to accept both positions as valid. This, of course, flies in the face of logic, which is also a casualty of postmodernism. Those who espouse postmodernism, by definition, fall into the category of liars. This thinking has given us the whole transgender movement, which is a lie.
Back to courage. For one to stand with the truth requires courage when the mainstream of the culture is living by lies. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. To follow Jesus is to live in truth and be willing to confront the lies all around us. It takes courage to speak the truth when the government, big tech, and big pharma are all telling lies. And they aren’t the only ones.
John follows the cowardly with the faithless, also translated as unfaithful. Jesus puts these two characteristics together.
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid [cowardly], O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:26
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid [cowardly]? Have you still no faith?”
Markm 4:40
In both passages, the word “afraid” is the same Greek word translated as “cowardly” in Revelation 21:8. Jesus connects their fear or cowardice with weak or lacking faith.
The book of Revelation is written to believers to bolster their faith amid persecution that sometimes results in death. To interpret the Bible correctly, asking to whom this was originally written is important. This book was not written as an evangelistic tract for non-believers. It was written as an encouragement to followers of Jesus.
The cowardly, the faithless…and all liars refer to either false believers or pagans outside the bounds of the people of God. All these persons will find their final portion or inheritance in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur forever. I believe this verse addresses church members/attenders who, for their own reasons, think it is a good thing to attend church, but they have not submitted themselves to King Jesus. They are merely culturally Christian with no personal relationship of submission to Jesus. It is also addressing those entirely outside the people of God.
As we read in the chapter, it becomes clear that these folks will not participate in the New Heaven and New Earth but will be banished to some other dimension of existence that we generally call hell. It will not be part of the “all things new.” People in this world are pursuing some kind of utopia. That longing is evidence of human longing for the New Heaven and New Earth. Unfortunately, for those who are in rebellion against God, they will never find the utopia they seek. All human attempts to create a utopia have and always will fail because we who are attempting utopia are flawed and bring our brokenness into the fabric of our utopian exercise. The only true utopia to be found is one created for us by the resurrected Lord, who will make all things new, and then we will experience beyond utopia.
This passage caused me to ask myself about my courage, faithfulness, and truthfulness. Do I, or will I, have the courage to remain faithful to King Jesus if I face death as my reward for obeying Jesus and his law? Do I have the faith to live faithfully for Jesus in all circumstances? Do I have the faith and courage to obey Jesus and gather with the church to sing and worship when the government wants to shut us down? Do I have the faith to always live and speak the truth? I believe God will grant me the grace to face my challenges with the requisite courage and faith. He has promised through the Apostle Paul, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Speaking the truth and not joining in with all liars also takes courage, especially when the popular narrative contradicts the truth. Can I speak the truth when I am told I must use a co-worker’s choice of pronouns when those pronouns do not match that person’s biological sex? In some places of employment, it could cost me my job.
I am not saying whether one is courageous enough will determine whether he gets to be a citizen of New Heaven and New Earth or gain his portion in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. Our salvation comes to us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But we can’t ignore the fact that those lacking courage, faith, and truth-telling will find their portion in the lake of fire. If I find my life is characterized by a lack of courage, faith, and truthfulness, I might want to consider those a thermometer and see if I am spiritually sick and need saving. If my life is not being conformed to the image of Jesus but continuing with sinful living patterns, maybe I am not a Christian and need to consult with my Pastor to find assurance in Christ.
