Revelation: Your Future Home

When the tribulation is finished, God's wrath and judgment will be over, and Jesus Christ will return to the earth.

Revelation 19 describes this second coming of Jesus, the culmination of the gospel. After that will come the binding of Satan and the millennium, where Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth, ruling and reigning for 1,000 years. Then there will be one final uprising that will be quelled, the great white throne judgment of unbelievers, and, finally, the eternal state.

The eternal state is the end of the end, the ultimate phase. Heaven and earth will be destroyed, and new ones will take their place, with the capital city of New Jerusalem. Revelation 21-22 describes it: That which is ruined will be restored. The curse of sin will be removed, and there will be no more sorrow, tears, pain, or death. Most importantly, you'll be with God forever.

I hope that surveying the New Testament, especially this last book, has not only whetted your appetite to the riches of God's Word but also awakened you to the reality of your future home—eternity with the Lord.

Think It Through

Read Revelation 19:11-16. What will Jesus' second coming be like?

Read Revelation 21-22. What about your eternal home most inspires and motivates you here on earth?

Reflect on the past thirty days. What have you learned about God's Word? About the New Testament? What are the biggest lessons you'll take with you into the future?

A Word of Encouragement

Revelation has a special blessing for its readers: "Blessed [or happy] is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book" (Revelation 22:7). How do you keep the book of Revelation? By choosing to live in the light of eternity, rather than the temporal world. And what's the blessing? In seeing Jesus clearly, and in reading the end of the story and knowing He wins.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the last thirty days I've spent in the New Testament, and thank You that I know how the story ends. I pray by Your grace that I would continue to immerse myself in Your Word, and that by so doing I would continually choose to live not for this world, but for eternity.

Land and Explore

Forever is a long time, so it makes sense that you understand and prepare for it. To learn more about heaven and eternity, check out Pastor Skip's series From the Edge of Eternity.

Enjoy a clear, aerial view of the Bible. Download a chapter from The Bible from 30,000 Feet today.