In Revelation 21:5-8, from His throne, the Almighty tells John to write down these words specifically.
“It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
I hold the opinion that these verses are God describing himself, telling us who he is. The second sentence starts with “I am,” and I think the rest of the selection elaborates on it.
He starts with his timelessness to bring his separateness from humanity into sharp focus. He is the beginning and the end! Simply put, He is utterly HOLY. Profoundly set apart, yet He will elevate the needy to Himself… for free! His grace brings the needy into his very family, calling us his children. The idea that the most holy would adopt the most unholy is a paradox for the ages. We therefore conclude that He is generosity itself.
Then we see what He hates, the things He deems to be literally worthy of hell. These are things we will be the opposite of. We will be courageous and bold, we’ll be noble defenders, chaste and true, wholly devoted to God, and entirely trustworthy. To me, this sounds hauntingly familiar; it’s like a collection of all the wonderful, unrealistic ideals I ever daydreamed about as a kid. We will be made new as complete, holy, and pure versions of ourselves. Redeemed!
Our Father hates evil and loves us. We have evil natures and do evil, but He loves us far more. We have been washed by the blood of Christ and claimed by the Spirit. So now, when God rails against hell-worthy attributes that we may presently exhibit, we can rail against our own sin with Him, agreeing that it is indeed hell-bound, all the while knowing we are secure and in no danger. We’ll be made into who we’ve always been meant to be: His children.
Jonathan Duncan
EFCC Member