A FREE OFFER TO COME AND LIVE IN HEAVEN FOREVER

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent My angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David's Great Descendant, and I am also the bright morning star.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”

Everyone who hears this should say, “Come!”

If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free!

Revelation 22:16-17 CEV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

While John is the one who wrote down the words in the Book of Revelation, we know that the entire twenty-two chapters are centered on Jesus who presented the revelation which was given by God, a truth we find in the opening two verses of chapter 1:

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

With this, we come to our verses today from the final chapter of this book, verses where Jesus reminds us of that He provided the revelation to John about what is still yet to come in advance of His return to earth. Look again at verses 16 and 17 of Revelation, chapter 22:

“I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent My angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David's Great Descendant, and I am also the bright morning star.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”

Everyone who hears this should say, “Come!”

If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free!

When we get to the core of the Bible, we see God’s salvation plan to be carried out through His Son. From Genesis to Revelation, this plan is fully revealed and here we find Christ making sure everyone knows that He, the One His Father God placed in full authority over all things in Heaven and on earth, is at the center of hope for all the people of the world, everyone having the opportunity to be part of the bride (the Christian church) which will be wed forever to the holy, divine Bridegroom (Jesus).

This Bridegroom, Jesus, proclaims Himself as the “Great Descendant” of David, a truth foretold in the Gospel genealogies found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. You’ll remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, known as the city of David, because His earthly father Joseph, and mother Mary were both in the line of David and therefore had to journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register in compliance with the order from Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-7).

And so Jesus is indeed the Great Descendant of David, and actually the greatest Descendant when we think about it. He also declares Himself to be the “bright morning star”. He is the Light of the world and no one that truly follows Him in this earthly life will ever walk in darkness (John 8:12). Then, when the new Heaven and earth emerge with the magnificent city of New Jerusalem, we know that Jesus will be the Lamp that shines the light of God on all city dwellers, all those who placed their belief in Him as Savior (Revelation 21:23-24). Indeed, no light is greater than the light of Jesus, the bright morning star.

It is this Jesus, the Lamb of God who came and took away the sin of the world (John 1:29) who invites everyone to come to Him, to come now before He returns for anyone who chose to withhold their belief in Him will be destined for Hell at the moment of great judgment. Further, Jesus makes it clear that the gift of eternal life found in Him is absolutely free. Salvation is open to all people regardless of their socioeconomic standing. The rich, poor, and all those in between are invited to come and receive life giving water that will quench the thirst of the soul forever.

If you are reading this today and you have already accepted Jesus as Savior, bask in the guaranteed hope you have for everlasting life with God and Jesus. Through Christ, you have already gained victory over death and the grace with Heaven as your future home.

For everyone else, those who have rejected Jesus up to this point, my prayer is that you believe in Him today and accept His free offer to come and live with Him forever. I urge you to not allow one more day to go by without knowing you are saved and promise you that it’s a decision that you will never regret.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ETERNAL REWARD OR PUNISHMENT. WHICH WILL IT BE?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

Revelation 22:12-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“I am coming soon!”

These words spoken by Jesus more than 2,000 years ago stand true today and still hold the same sense of urgency although Satan has planted and will continue to plant seeds of skepticism and disbelief in the hearts of anyone who would let him into their hearts and minds.

This doubting of Jesus’ words might be created by thoughts like this:

“He said this 2,000 years ago and He still hasn’t come back. That isn’t exactly what I call soon.”

or

“If He was really coming back, He would have done so by now.”

or

“This is one place in the Bible that leads me to not believe anything that’s in it. He should have been back by now.”

I’m sure there are other variations but you get the point. It’s the year 2025 and we are still waiting for Him to return, and yet, we must exercise patience, especially as Christian believers with four important things in mind:

1. Jesus’ concept of time is not ours.

We’re reminded of this in the second letter of Peter where he writes the following:

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8

Yes, it’s been 2,000 years for us in earthly time keeping but to the Lord, it’s just a couple of days. We need to keep this in mind.

2. We don’t dictate to Jesus when He should do anything.

Here’s the second thing we need to remember:

No one possesses the right or the authority to tell Jesus what he should and shouldn’t do nor when He should act in any way. It’s simply not our place or privilege to do so.

God placed Jesus, His Son, in full authority over all things in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). This means everyone is subordinate to Him and therefore submit to His will and way as well as whatever time He deems to move in every situation to include when He returns again.

3. Our future is set, no matter when He comes.

Here in number three, we’re reminded that as believers in Jesus, it really doesn’t matter when Jesus comes because we are assured the promise of salvation whenever it happens. At the Rapture, we will disappear from this earth as suddenly as Jesus comes, moved into safety from the judgment that follows until that time when we take up residence in the new Jerusalem forever.

So what do we do as we wait patiently for Jesus to come?

The answer is found in the final thing we need to keep in mind.

4. Since we’re still here, waiting for Him to come back, it means we have Great Commission time on our hands, time to fulfill our purpose here on this earth.

For every moment we remain on this earth, we have the opportunity to respond to Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations and the stakes couldn’t be higher. For as we turn to our scripture passage for today from Revelation, chapter 22, we see that every single person who has ever lived is moving toward one of two final eternal outcomes and as Christians, we need to tirelessly be committed to help others have the same blessed assurance of salvation as we do.

Look again at these words for today:

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Vv.12-15

Here, we find Jesus sending the reminder that He is coming soon and when He does, His “reward” will be with Him, the reward of salvation for those who placed their trust in Him and had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. They will be the ones who are “blessed” (the seventh beatitude in Revelation) because of their everlasting life in the new holy city where they will “have right to the tree of life” and have open access to “go through the gates of the city”, the pearly gates that will never be closed (21:21,25).

As for everyone else, “the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (aka unbelievers), they will miss out on the glory and splendor of the new Jerusalem and instead be sent into the darkness and torment of Hell for all eternity.

In the end translation, Jesus will “give to each person according to what they have done” when He returns. So the question is simple”

Which will it be for you: eternal reward or punishment?

If your answer is eternal punishment because you have rejected Jesus, I urge you to make today the day of your salvation. Please your belief in Jesus and trade in Hell for Heaven. And do it now because indeed, He could return at any moment.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

NO SECRET KEPT, AMPLE WARNING GIVEN

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent His angel to show His servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

Revelation 22:6-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

From the very beginning, John had done what he was told to do. He wrote down everything that he had seen and heard about the end times, the future time that would see the end of things as we know it in the present heavens and earth before ushering in a new creation, one where sin, evil, and any possible affliction would be no more.

As this recording of events was coming to a close, we come to today’s scripture verses from the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22. There, we see where these words of prophecy were to not be kept secret so to serve as an ample warning to all people about what’s to come. Look again at our passage for today:

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent His angel to show His servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” Vv.6-11

Here, we find the angel that was with John proclaiming the integrity and validity of what had been said and done concerning what would take place in the future:

“These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent His angel to show His servants the things that must soon take place.”

We read here that it was God and God alone who was responsible for what John had written, words that were “trustworthy and true”. This was the God who deserved the worship of everyone, including John who we see is rebuked by the angel when he fell down to worship the holy entity. The angel made it clear that he was a servant of the Lord just as John was along with the “fellow prophets” and all who would “keep the words” of the scroll.

Regarding the scroll, note that the angel announce the sixth of seven beatitudes found in Revelation:

“Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.”

These words of prophecy weren’t given to be concealed. Rather, they were to be made known to all so that every single person would have the opportunity to be blessed (or cursed if they chose to still reject Jesus despite knowing what their eternal fate would be). Indeed, despite making the words of Revelation available for public access, there would be people who would “continue to do wrong” and “be vile” while those who placed their faith in Christ, those who chose to be right and righteous would continue to pursue holiness, to be holy as God was just as He commanded.

Today, nothing has changed. The words of prophecy in Revelation are just as true and trustworthy as they were more than 2,000 years ago when John recorded his vision. They are still open and obtainable for anyone to read, and with the knowledge within this book, people can make a choice that will impact their eternal future. They will either continue to choose sin and wickedness or they will decide to give their lives to Jesus and join all other disciples who live for Him in obedience to God the Father.

So where are you today and what will you do with these words that aren’t keep in secret and offer ample warning about what’s to come?

My prayer is that you will be counted in the number of the blessed who will choose Christ over Satan and, in doing so, gain Heaven over Hell.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECOME NEW FOREVER (PART 6)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:3-4, 5b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Of all the afflictions that impact mankind, none is more dangerous and deadly than sin. John MacArthur, senior pastor of Grace Community Church in California, put it this way:

“Sin is a horrible malignancy for which there is no human cure. It is an incurable leprosy of the soul (Isaiah 1:4-6), and all humanity is sick with it from top to bottom, inside and out.”

“Sin is abominable to God. He hates it. Sin is contrary to His nature. It stains the soul and degrades.”

“Scripture calls sin "filthiness" and likens it to a putrefying corpse. Sinners are the tombs that contain stench and foulness. The ultimate penalty, death, is the consequence of sin. If you refuse to see your sin as God does, you cannot escape His eternal judgment.”

Powerful words of truth reinforced by the holy Word of God and yet a multitude of people, roughly three-fourths of the world’s total population are fully living under this sin malady and destined for the eternal fire of Hell we read about in the closing chapters of this Book of Revelation (world population is around eight billion with two billion being Christians). That’s exponentially more catastrophic than any pandemic we seem to get worried about in these times.

With this as a backdrop, let’s now look at our scripture verses for today from the 22nd chapter of Revelation, as we finish this six part series on things made new by God at that time when He hits the reset button on His creation.  

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And they will reign forever and ever. Vv.3-4, 5b

Here the curse is no other than the curse of sin. It is no longer in play because it went away with the other “former things” which included Satan and all evil, sickness, heartbreak, the sun and moon, death and the grave. Once sinners in their former life in the old Heaven and earth, now all Christians abiding in the new Jerusalem will be perfectly pure, their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus. They are the “servants” who will do the will of God and Christ the Lamb for all eternity as they see them face to face and “reign forever” with them.

Living with God and Jesus forever, sinless, curse-free, and perfectly holy as they are.

That’s the final outcome for every Christian believer when they enter into the promise of salvation and the blessed everlasting life that is its reward. Let’s all rejoice and be glad for the wonderful future we have in and through Jesus, our Savior, a future made possible by God the Father.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECOME NEW FOREVER (PART 5)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The 22nd chapter of the Book of Revelation is the final chapter in the entire Bible and our God certainly saves the best for last. For as we have seen in the preceding chapter along with the beginning of this one, a very detailed description of the final, eternal dwelling place for all Christian believers is provided and it’s simply magnificent and glorious beyond our comprehension.

In yesterday’s message, we saw where all Jesus disciples, those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, will abide in an environment of ultimates in the holy city called new Jerusalem.

There will be ultimate worship, not in any temple or church, but because God and Jesus will be present where we can give them our honor and praise every single moment of every single day.

There will be ultimate light as darkness and night will be no more, eliminated by the God who will make all things new. The scriptures tell us there will be no more need for a sun because the Lord God Almighty will emit all the light needed and Jesus will serve as the lamp.

Did I mention that this place would be marked by magnificence and glory?

The third ultimate is ultimate safety. There will never be a time when the pearly gates of the new Jerusalem will need to be closed because there will never be a time when it or any of its inhabitants will be in peril or danger. For just as darkness and night were vanquished by God so too were evil and sin. You’ll remember that Satan and anyone associated with him were cast into the second death, the fiery lake of Hell.

Finally, the new Jerusalem will be a place of ultimate purity for all those who will live there will have been justified and washed clean by the blood of Jesus. They will indeed be holy as their Father God is holy, and be so forever.

This brings us to our verses for today as we are given a little more insight into what we will see in person one day to come. Look again at these opening two verses of Revelation 22:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Just as the element of water helps the physical, human body to survive, so does the spiritual water that is synonymous with eternal life. We shouldn’t think of this actual water like we might see in a worldly river but rather an outpouring of spiritual “water”, flowing out from God and His Son Jesus to bring eternal life to all His believers. This imagery brings me back to the words of Jesus as He spoke with a Samaritan woman at the well. You may remember Him saying this to her:

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Here in the new Jerusalem, we find these words of Jesus come alive in a real way as the “water” flowing from Him and the Father wells “up to eternal life” for all Christians living there.

Also of interest here is the mention of the “tree of life”, a reenactment linked to God’s first creative action. Look at these words from the Book of Genesis:

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden. Genesis 2:8-10

Here we find God, the Alpha and Omega, taking some things He created in the beginning and replicating them here as He hits the reset button on creation. And just as the tree of life, watered by a river flowing from Eden, was present at the onset of life on earth, so too was a “river of the water of life” flowing from God to nourish a “tree of life” on “each side of the river”, a tree that will bear “twelve crops of fruit” and yield that fruit “every month”. Further, we read where “the leaves of the tree” will provide “healing of the nations”.

If you’re like me, you are absolutely blown away by the majesty of the new Jerusalem, the future forever home for all those like you and me who have placed their belief in Jesus as Savior. We’ll finish this series tomorrow with one last message and I hope you’ll come back to see what else will set this new everlasting, divine dwelling place apart from anything else we have ever experienced.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECOME NEW FOREVER (PART 4): THE FOUR ULTIMATES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 21:22-27, 22:5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The new Jerusalem, the eternal home for all Christian believers, will be like nothing anyone has ever witnessed. In yesterday’s message, we read of the golden city’s immensity, running 1,400 miles along each of the four jasper walls. Each wall will have three, thick pearl gates, each named after one of the twelve tribes of Israel, they will be supported by twelve foundations, each decorated with a different precious stone and named after one of Jesus’ twelve apostles.

This is what our forever home will look like but in today’s message, the scriptures tell us of the environment we will live in within this new magnificent and holy city. Look at these closing verses from Revelation, chapter 21 and verse 5 of chapter 22:

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Vv.22-27

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever. v.5

When we enter into the promised eternal life through our belief in Jesus, we will enter into our best life ever, a life that will be filled with ultimate experiences. In today’s passage, the Word of God shares four of these ultimates with us. They include:

1. Ultimate worship.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

There will be no more need for a dedicated place of worship because our new life will be one where worship is happening constantly and perpetually. It will be unceasing as we live in the presence of God the Father and Jesus, His Son, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Think about a time when we will bring our praise and honor to the Lord 24/7. That’s ultimate worship and it will happen forever in the new Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place with His people (21:3).

2. Ultimate light.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

When the present Heaven and earth pass away, so too will be the concept of day and night as God first made it. For one of the many things that God will make new is the absence of the sun and moon. They will no longer be needed because the scriptures tells us that the glory of God will provide the ultimate light power for the city and its people with Jesus as the lamp that reflects that light everywhere. There “will be no more night” nor will anyone need “the light of a lamp” or “the light of the sun” because God will “give them all the light they need. And so everyone who dwells in new Jerusalem will “walk by” His light as they “reign forever and ever”.

Can you even imagine how spectacular this is going to be, living every day in the midst of the Lord’s light with darkness eliminated forever?

It’s going to be simply superb and splendid.

3. Ultimate safety.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

In biblical times, walled cities had to close their gates and place guards on watch at night to prevent being attacked under the cloak of darkness.

In present times, we lock the doors of our dwelling places for much the same reason because it seems that the darkness is synonymous with evil acts and deeds. People who willingly to sin grievously against another, rarely do so in the light of day.

Now, picture a time when you will never ever worry about evil or wickedness again. That time in your mind will happen when Christians inhabit and reside in the new Jerusalem.

We know Satan and all those who aligned with him were cast into Hell before the present Heaven and earth passed away, taking sin with it. Now, in the freshly crafted holy city, there will be no need to ever close the gates because malevolence won’t exist. It will be a time and place of ultimate safety for all those who are dwelling under the light of God forever.

4. Ultimate purity.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

And that leads us to this fourth ultimate, for every single inhabitant of the New Jerusalem will be as pure as the God and Savior they dwell with. Just as God made everything else new, so too does He wash every single Christian clean by the blood of His Son, the Lamb. These are the people who placed their belief in Jesus and therefore found themselves in His Book of Life, people who will experience ultimate purity as they now live a sinless, everlasting existence in God’s new holy city.

Friends, anyone who doesn’t want this for their eternal destiny is nothing less than a fool. For in shunning the beauty of the new Jerusalem and God’s invitation to live there, they are rejecting the ultimates that come with salvation, instead choosing an eternal life in darkness filled with suffering, torment, and damnation.

Let us be in prayer for all non-believers today, asking that their eyes be open to the future destruction that lies ahead so that their hearts and minds might be turned to the cross and Jesus who is waiting to save them if they would just believe in Him as their Savior.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECOME NEW FOREVER (PART 3)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.

The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

Revelation 21:9-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Every Christian who has ever lived, is living, and will ever live in the future will one day have a permanent change of address. For as we see in the Book of Revelation, chapter 21, one day they will live with God and Jesus forever in the new Jerusalem, the holy city that will be God’s dwelling place with His people (Vv.1-3)

What will this new, holy city look like?

While words won’t be able to do justice to its utter beauty and majesty, we find John doing a great job as we continue our study of this chapter. Look at verses 9 through 21:

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.

The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

Take a moment to imagine walking streets of gold forever in your new home. We see that this is going to happen when we live within the new Jerusalem, our new home made by the One who makes all things new (v.5). Simply amazing, right?

As we walk, we will have plenty of room to roam for the city will be square and run 1,400 miles long (12,000 stadia) on each of its four sides. It would take a person 20 days of continuous walking to cover that distance, giving you an idea of the immensity of the new Jerusalem, enough space to house all of Jesus’ disciples.

We read where the city “of pure gold”, sitting on a mountain and shining “with the glory of God”, had a “brilliance” about it “like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal”. Its boundaries were in the form of four “great, high” walls, made from jasper. These four walls had “twelve gates”, each “made from a single pearl”. These pearly gates will be equally distributed between the four walls as John records that there will be “three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west”, all with an associated angel. Each gate 200 feet thick (144 cubits) will be written the “names of the twelve tribes of Israel”.

The walls of the new Jerusalem will be supported by “twelve foundations”, each inscribed with the “names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb”. Each of these foundations would be as unique as the servant of Jesus they were named after. The scriptures tell us that they will be “decorated with every kind of precious stone” with the first foundation...jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst”.

It’s hard for us to fathom such a place, the most beautiful, breathtaking place ever created, but one day we will live there with God and our Savior Jesus for all eternity. I don’t know about you but I am so excited for that day when it comes for it will be the best day ever where you, I, and every other Christian believer can abide forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECAME NEW FOREVER (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 21:5-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was a scene that was hard to put into words but we find John doing a really good job as chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation starts.

First, a new Heaven and earth emerged because the past version of both, referred to as part of the “former things”, had passed away along with anyone who chose to reject Jesus and align instead with Satan, the “cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral”, and “those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars”. All of these were “consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (aka Hell) which is called “the second death”.

Then, descending from the new Heaven was a glorious, magnificent city, the new Jerusalem, which would be the holy city where God would dwell with His people forever. And His people will be everyone who chose to believe in Jesus while the first Heaven and earth were in existence, those whose names were found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Finally, as if this wasn’t wonderful enough, we read where God Himself would “wipe every tear” from the eyes of His people, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. There would be no need for sorrow in this new place because death, mourning, crying, or pain would be no more, also included in the “former things”.

Friends, this is our eternal destiny, the future time where we will live alongside God and Jesus forever, free from sin and evil and worry and suffering and heartbreak. Our best life is yet to come, for sure, and as we continue to look at chapter 21 and into chapter 22, we’re going to get even more definition as to what our forever home will be like. But before then, let’s hear words from our Lord from today’s passage, verses five through eight:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Indeed, the God who first made all things, to include the Heaven and earth that had just passed away, now makes it clear that it was He who has made “everything new”. Further, He wanted His words preserved and so He commands that they be written down for they were “trustworthy and true”.

As for this new creation, God further makes it clear that He and He alone was there from the beginning to the end, serving as “the Alpha and Omega”. For all His people, those who thirsted for Him and had gained the blessing to live with Him and Jesus forever, we find God promising “water without cost from the spring of the water of life”. Only the “victorious” would “inherit this”, those who were the “children” of God.

As Christians, we have more reasons to thank God than we can ever sit down and list. The assurance of everlasting life with Him through Jesus should always be at the top of our gratitude expressions for although this life is far from perfect, we know the world we live in is not our true home, just a temporary stop on the way to glory.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DAY WHEN ALL THINGS BECOME NEW FOREVER (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then I saw “a new Heaven and a new earth,” for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘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.”

Revelation 21:1-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s always amazing to me how God, through His Word, shows us the connectional nature of the Old and New Testament, especially in regard to words He spoke through His prophets. Two such instances from the Book of Isaiah point to future time when things will radically change as our Lord promises to make all things new.

We’ll start today’s message with one of these instances and use it as a lead in to today’s passage. Look at what God had to say in the seventeenth verses of Isaiah, chapter 65:

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”

Here, we find God foretelling of a day when the Heaven and earth present at the time of Isaiah would one day be no more. They are the former things that He mentions and in their place, He promises to create a new heaven and earth.

With that vision in mind, let’s now fast forward to the opening verses of Revelation, chapter 21 where we find the vision become a reality. Look again at these verses here as John continues to share what he is witnessing:

Then I saw “a new Heaven and a new earth,” for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘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.” Vv.1-4

Here, we find the emergence of “a new Heaven and earth” that replaced the “first Heaven and the first earth” which had “passed away” (thus becoming the “former things”). Within this new creation, John sees “the Holy City” which was “the new Jerusalem” descending from the new Heaven after being sent “from God”. Trying to describe this spectacular event the best he could, John said the new “Holy City” was “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband”.

What purpose would this magnificent city hold on the new earth?

Going to our passage, we find the answer proclaimed by a loud voice from the throne:

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘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.”

Through Jesus, the separation between God and man was no more. All who placed their belief in Jesus and, in turn had their names written within the Lamb’s Book of Life, were now living with Him for all eternity. He was their God and they were His people, the ones He saved for such a time as this.

And with that, we go to the second place in the Book of Isaiah that leads into this amazing advent of everlasting life between God, His Son Jesus, and all Christian believers. Look at these words from the eighth verse of Isaiah, chapter twenty-five:

“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.”

Here, the God who made all things new will ensure His people leave all that afflicted them in the past. There will be no more need for worry over “death or mourning or crying of pain” because all sources of sorrow will be gone. They will join sin and evil under the category of “the old order of things” which had “passed away.”

Friends, what an incredible future we have after Jesus returns to judge the earth. For through Him, our best life is yet to come, a new life made possible by the God who makes all things new. Until that time comes, let us give thanks and rejoice in this sure hope today and every day the Lord blesses us with.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Every single person who has ever lived will have one of two eternal destinies.

That’s right, everyone will one day live forever. No one dies with their body either going into the ground or sea or cremated with their soul absent, gone at the drawing of one’s last breath.

No, the body may die but the soul lives on until the moment of truth, the moment when Jesus returns to sit on His throne and bring judgment to the people of the earth. We read about what this will look like in the closing verses of Revelation, chapter 20:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Vv.11-15

Here we read that after Satan is “thrown into the lake of burning sulfur” with “the beast and the false prophet” where they would be “tormented day and night forever and ever”, John sees “a great white throne” and Jesus who “was seated on it”. Such was the amazing power and authority emitted by His mere presence that we read where “the earth and heavens fled” from Him but there was no place for them to go, no escaping what was to come next.

Before the throne stood “the dead, great and small”, all who had been surrendered by the sea, death, and Hades, the latter of which was just Greek word, the equivalent of the Hebrew "sheol", meaning the place of the dead. As they stood before the throne, the scriptures tell us that “books were opened” one of which is “the book of life”, also referred to as the Lamb’s Book of Life because the names within were all redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Within this book contained all that the dead in Christ “had done” and they will be judged according to this.

It’s important to emphasize here that there will be a multitude of the dead whose name will not be found in the Lamb’s book, those who rejected Him while alive. This multitude will experience “the second death” which happens when they are cast into “the lake of fire” (aka Hell) along with death and Hades. There, they will live in everlasting torment in the company of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet.

This future moment of truth should serve as a wake up call for anyone who reads this message and has not placed their belief in Jesus as Savior. My prayer is that you, the unbeliever, will sense the urgency to make sure your name is written in the book of life before you die, and you don’t know that today might not be that day. Come to Christ today without delay and seal your eternal future, a glorious future that we will start looking at in tomorrow’s message as we move toward concluding the study of this amazing book.

Amen.

In Christ, 

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.