Welcome. I begin our last day together with that single word.
My prayer is that by now you have read the entire Word of God. That you have lingered over it, wrestled with it, and allowed it to shape you. I hope you trusted Him for salvation, having received full knowledge of God’s promises. As the apostle John wrote earlier, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Now, at the close of Scripture, I pray you have come to that conclusion.
But as we read Revelation chapters 20 through 22, I want you to imagine something.
Imagine that you have been on an endless journey. You have seen things you did not expect to see. Old friends have comforted you. New friends have embraced you. Along the way, you have formed an image in your mind of what this road ultimately leads to. And now the question presses in: Will it live up to the promise?
When Expectations Fall Short
As a young man, I remember hearing about Las Vegas. I had seen the images—neon lights, towering casinos, magnificent fountains. But when I finally drove across Hoover Dam and entered the city, I noticed something else. Garbage littered the sides of the street. People lived in run-down homes. The schools I passed looked tired and neglected.
I learned then that not everything that glitters is gold.
Much of what we believe in during this life disappoints us. We invest our hopes in systems, pleasures, and promises that cannot deliver what they advertise.
God’s Promises Do Not Disappoint
As we now approach the end of the Bible, we find something profoundly different. Everything God has promised is exactly as He said it would be. In truth, it is more magnificent than we can imagine.
We hoped heaven would be big enough for all those we loved—and it is bigger. We repented because sin had ruined our world—and now sin may not even enter the new one (Revelation 21:27). The old order of things has passed away, and God Himself declares, “I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5).
Yet among these promises is one we must face honestly.
The Promise That Confronts Us
Scripture is equally clear that no sinner enters God’s kingdom unchanged. Those who refuse to trust in Christ, believing instead that their own deeds will earn them entry, will learn that they have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). At the great white throne judgment, someone opens books and another book—the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12). Anyone not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).
This truth is sobering, but it is not cruel. It is honest.
A Warning from Pilgrim’s Progress
I am reminded of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. As Christian struggles to cross the River of Death, he falters, doubts, and fears—but he enters the Eternal City because of the faith he gained at the Cross. The city is everything he hoped for and more. (1)
Then comes one of the most haunting moments in all of Christian literature.
Another man, Ignorance, approaches the gates. His own works, he believed, were sufficient. He thought his moral life would outweigh his sins. He comes very close—close enough to see the gates and hear the celebration—but because he lacks a certificate of redemption; they turn him away and usher him into hell.
Bunyan ends that scene with a warning: there is a way to hell even from the gates of heaven.
Inside the Gates—and Outside Them
Inside the city, John shows us the river of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). The glory of God and of Jesus permeates everything; there is no need for sun or lamp, for the Lord Himself is its light (Revelation 21:23).
Even the things we once prized on earth—gold, jewels, precious stones—become building materials beneath our feet (Revelation 21:18–21).
But Scripture also tells us that there are those who remain outside the gates (Revelation 22:15). People who refuse grace. Those who cling to sin. They would rather rule their own lives than submit to the mercy of Christ.
A Last Prayer
My last prayer, as I wrap up our study of the New Testament, is this: that you will have learned from the failures of others. That you recognized yourself in their struggles. That you did not place your trust in religion, morality, or effort—but in Christ alone.
This is my hope: that you have trusted Jesus, that the Book of Life contains your name, and that when you reach the gates of that New Jerusalem, you will not merely see it—but enter.
Footnotes
- John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress (London, 1678), Part II, concluding scenes.