Vazquez Counseling

As you look around and see what is happening in the world, I am sure you are wondering just how bad the lawlessness and the evil taking place can get. I have a bit of sobering news for you. The Scriptures clearly teach that at the end of the world, it is going to be horrific. The love of many will grow cold, and people will hate each other. For evil people, those committed to serving the enemy of our souls, it does not end well for them. The Bible says that Christ, the King of kings and the LORD of lords, will come and destroy His enemies. When He comes, He will set everything in order, God’s order. The Suffering Messiah came as a Humble Servant to rescue us from our sins and from the wrath of Almighty God. The Reigning Messiah is coming as a Conquering King to finish what He started. He is coming to establish His Kingdom firmly on the Earth. Anyone who opposes him, including the enemy, will have no hope of stopping Him. My question to you right now is, are you ready to receive the King of the Universe, or are you one of the ones who will stand in opposition to Him?

The bad news is that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, and if people do not repent and follow God, they will lose their souls. The good news is that Jesus Christ came the first time to reconcile us to God the Father through His Perfect Life, His Atoning Death on the Cross, and His Resurrection. When God comes again, He is coming to fulfill every promise in the Old and New Testaments that talks about how God the Father willl finally walk amongst us, loving us fully, and wiping away every tear from our eyes. In this Kingdom, which I would argue has been here since Jesus ascended into Heaven but will be ultimately fulfilled at the Second Coming, there will no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more illness. Humanity will become what God originally intended. We were created to rule side by side with Jesus. The Fall of Mankind was a detour, obviously a big detour, but I believe our Father allowed mankind to fall to prove to the enemy and his minions that God’s Love would win in the end. Our Father was never afraid to lose this war with evil. Our LORD trusted that His Love would win. He saw His victory played out, even before Jesus arrived on the scene. Sometimes, the enemy seems to win, and he is always trying to outmaneuver God, but he can never win in the end because he is fighting an Omnipotent and All Knowing God who can think and plan out an infinite number of moves ahead of him. If you faced God in a chess game, you would lose every time, right? Why? Because no one can outthink God. Not you, not the enemy, not his demons, no one.

Today, I’d like to focus on the wonderful promise of the New Heavens, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem, which we read about at the end of the Book of Revelation. The former things will pass away, the Word says. In this Paradise, there will be no sin and no suffering of any kind.

Here then is what Revelation 21 says:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’

Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’

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. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 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.’

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (New King James Version)

What an exquisite, beautiful, and wonderful promise from our Blessed LORD that these Words of Life proclaim. We do not need to fear anything, not sickness, not death, nothing, if this is what our LORD is promising His people. So this begs the question, are you counted as one among His people?

The Bible says that in order to be saved, you need to place your faith and trust in our LORD Jesus Christ. There is no other means of salvation. In order to enter into God’s Holy City, you need to do one thing, believe that God sent his Son to live a Perfect Life on your Behalf, sacrificially die on a Cross in your place, and that the Spirit of God then raised Him from the dead three days later to not only prove that He is the Messiah, but to also guarantee you Eternal Life. This, my Friends, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He lived, died, and rose from the dead to guarantee you a spot in Heaven, but only if you place your trust and faith in Him. It’s not rocket science, my Friends. Actually, it’s quite simple.

There are many people in this world who deny Christ. Many of them will die denying Christ, and they will be lost due to their own volition. I’ve engaged with many atheists on social media. Usually, they argue with me for a bit, but eventually, they realize that I know the Word of God really well (I’ve read it from cover to cover at least 10 times, and I study it everyday), and they give up arguing with me. As hard as you try, you cannot argue with the Truth of God. I know for a fact that there are no contradictions in the Bible. People think that they’re there, but that’s because they don’t know the Whole Counsel of God. I also know that the Word of God is the source of everlasting joy and abiding peace. You can have both of those things, if you trust and believe in Jesus.

I can tell you one thing for certain, and I can say this because it’s true in my life and in the lives of every genuine believer in God. Here it is: once you repent of your sins, and you trust God for your salvation in Christ Jesus by accepting the plain Truth of the Gospel, our Precious Holy Spirit will come and take up residence in your heart. Jesus Himself promised this to His people. The Holy Spirit is our Helper who has come to testify to the world that God the Father and His Son Jesus exist. He does this by communicating directly to your heart about the Truth of God. If permanently having the Holy Spirit in your life makes you uneasy, that is the enemy trying to convince you that following God is scary. I submit to you that being against God when our King returns is much scarier. You will not have a leg to stand on when you face our Righteous Judge, the Living God. He will ask you why you did not believe in his Son. And no matter what you say, He will turn away from you and say, “Depart from Me, for I never knew you.” Now, that should terrify you. The bad news is that without Jesus, you will perish. The Good News is that our Blessed LORD is inviting you to join with Him. He is not a vindictive God who wants to control you and kill your joy. Quite the opposite, He wants to give you the freedom found only in Him, and that means You will be free to do anything your heart desires that is good. If you follow Jesus, He will give you Eternal Life, and you will have everything you ever wanted. That is the promise given to us in the Holy Scriptures.

Go back and re-read Revelation 21 carefully. Now, can you honestly tell me that you don’t want to be there with the rest of God’s people? I can honestly say that in my experience walking with God for over 50 years, I have tasted of the wonderful fruit of salvation. Can I let you in on a little secret, something I alluded to earlier in this blog, something that sadly, most Christians either do not know, or they don’t share with others, probably because it may sound a little strange? You can have this Eternal Life that Jesus freely offers in the here and now. We may still die in this world, but we can enjoy the peace of God and the abiding joy found only in Him in our present lives. And that, ultimately, is what Heaven on Earth is all about, having the peace of God, and having His joy, and being certain that even if you die, you will live forever with Him. Amen.