Revelation 21:6-8 (NKJV) And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
V6 “And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” Alpha and Omega do not refer to Jesus being the first created, etc. It is referencing His preeminence (Colossians 1:18) and His eternal nature (never created but always existing (1 Timothy 1:17, Isaiah 40:28, and John 1:1-3). The Beginning and the End are much the same. He is Living Water as in John 4. Jesus in John 4 refers to spiritual water, not physical water. Spiritual water is given by God through personal salvation, reading the Scriptures, prayer, fellowship, etc. It does not refer to any ritual. It is life water to the soul of the one who believes. Any person can ask for this. God initiates salvation (John 16:7-11) and saves (2 Timothy 3:15). We are saved when we believe (Acts 16:31).
V7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” He who overcomes refers to believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Keathley writes: “As John pointed out in his first epistle, all true believers are overcomers (1 John 5:4-5), so this promise is not just for the “spiritually elite.” Because we are the children of God, we shall inherit all things.”
One of the greatest blessings of salvation is found in these words: “I will be his God and he shall be My son.” We are adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 1:5). What a blessing!
V8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Those who do not believe are those who do not overcome. This is a small list of sins.
The Greek word for cowardly is (G1169) δειλός deilós, which means timid and fearful, which carries the idea (Strong) “of Christians who through cowardice give way under persecutions and apostatize.” They were unfaithful. Compare Robertson: “Old word (from deidō, to fear) for the cowardly, who recanted under persecution, in N.T. only here, Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:40.”
Unbelieving = those who refuse to believe. Compare Revelation 9:20-21 and Revelation 16:9-11.
Abominable = Things that stink in God’s nose. Compare Isaiah 65:1-5.
Murderers and sexually immoral.
Sorcerers = Vine: “pharmakos (G5333), an adjective signifying “devoted to magical arts,” is used as a noun, “a sorcerer,” especially one who uses drugs, potions, spells, enchantments, Revelation 21:8…
Idolaters = worshipping anything and everything except the Creator God of the Bible.
Liars = false Christians.
The eternal punishment is a lake with fire and burning liquid sulfur. This is the second death. Jesus came to offer salvation from that lake, but most refuse.
We learn:
- About eternal punishment upon those who refuse to believe
- About eternal blessings upon those who believe
Questions:
- Have you believed in Jesus for salvation from God’s wrath and forgiveness of sins?
- Do we seek any god other than the God of the Bible?