Revelation 21:5-8 - "And All Liars..."

John concludes his overview of the new heaven and the new earth with a serious and solemn warning. He reminds us of those who will be excluded from any participation in the blessings of heaven—all unforgiven and unredeemed sinners. There are similar lists of such sinners in 22:15; Romans 1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; and 2 Timothy 3:2-5. The first group excluded from heaven are the cowardly. These are the ones who lack endurance (cf. Matt. 24:13; Mark 8:35). They fell away when their faith was challenged or opposed, because their faith was not genuine. Jesus described such people in the parable of the soils: "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away" (Matt. 13:20-21). These are the ones who "shrink back to destruction" (Heb. 10:39). In John 8:31 Jesus defined those whose faith is genuine as those who continue in His Word. Because they lack saving faith and are unbelieving, their disloyalty excludes them from heaven. They are also abominable (vile, polluted, detestable, wholly caught up in wickedness and evil), murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Those whose lives are characterized by such things give evidence that they are not saved and will never enter the heavenly city. On the contrary, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. In contrast to the eternal bliss of the righteous in heaven, the wicked will suffer eternal torment in hell. The new heaven and the new earth await believers and the final hell, the lake of fire, awaits resurrected unbelievers. For believers, it will be a universe of eternal happiness as they dwell forever in the glorious presence of God. For unbelievers, it will be a terrifying place of unbearable torment and unrelieved misery away from God's presence (2 Thess. 1:9). The choices men and women make in this life determine in which of those realms they will live forever. It is interesting to me, as we live in a world where the Word of God and Jesus is denied, mocked and ridiculed, that we notice that wherever Truth is absence, unbelieving politicians and the media and are able to fill that void with their lies that the masses seem to accept as truth. The battle from the beginning of the human race has always been the lies of the evil one in conflict with the truth of God’s Word. The Scripture says, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” In John 8:44, Jesus told the unbelieving religious leaders that “they were of their father the devil, and the lust of their father they would do. He is murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. He is a liar and the father of it”. In contrast, Jesus is the Truth, the source of all truth and always will be!  (John 14:6) In conclusion, there are several things to remember about verse 8. First of all, the creation of the new heavens and a new earth did not affect the status of the lake of fire and of the lost. They are going into eternity just that way. In the second place, there is no possibility of sin, which made man become fearful, unbelieving, liars, murderers, and all the rest, ever breaking over the barriers into the new heavens and the new earth. Sin and its potential are forever shut out of the new creation. There will be no lies or liars in heaven! Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!” (John 8:32) “Therefore if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed”. (John 8:36) Today, you can be set free from the power and penalty of sin and death through Jesus Christ!