Characteristics of the Present World That are Absent in the New Earth

Using similar phrasing– οὐκ ἔστιν/ἔσται ἔτι (ouk estin/estai eti)–John, in Revelation 21-22, indicates seven things that will be no more in the new Earth: 

The sea (Rev 21:1)

Death (Rev 21:4)

Mourning (Rev 21:4)

Crying (Rev 21:4)

Pain (Rev 21:4)

Any curse (Rev 22:3)

Night (Rev 21:25; 22:5)

The number seven seems significant, indicating the complete passing away of every negative or difficult aspect of the old creation.

Death, mourning, crying, pain, and "any curse" are all effects of sin, and we rejoice that these will be absent from the new Earth. The absence of the sea and night may be more surprising, since–as recorded in Genesis 1–God made these as part of His "very good" creation. We should recognize that the sea and night are seen as symbolic of separation, fear, and death. In John's vision, the removal of these physical features indicates that there will be absolutely no lack of security. The lack of sea and the lack of night in Revelation indicates that there will be fearless, unbroken fellowship with God and with each other.

Psych Meds a Sin?

Appreciation

I love, appreciate, and respect Tony Miano. I am thankful for his example in evangelism. 

Introduction

A couple of days ago, Tony was a guest on the G220 Radio, a podcast hosted by my friend Mike Miller and his friend Ricky Gantz. On this podcast, Tony argues against Christians taking psych meds, asserting that use of such medications undermines the sufficiency of Scripture. Tony seemed to be saying that for a Christian to use psychiatric medications is a sin.

In response to a question I raised on the livestream, Tony was (helpfully) crystal clear that disagreements on the use of psych meds is not a first-order issue. However, it seemed like the use of psych meds was still being presented as somewhat analogous to an error regarding church government or the ordinances: where disagreements between genuine Christians might exist, yet there are some who must be biblical and some who must be unbiblical in their practices.

Taking psychiatric medications (or allowing one's child to take psych meds) may be wise or unwise in a given situation, but the taking of such meds cannot be called a sin for three reasons: the definition of the sufficiency of Scripture, the distinction between spiritual replacement and physical tool, and the dire circumstances in which one may be involved.

Definition of the Sufficiency of Scripture

The first reason that taking psych meds is not necessarily a sin involves the definition of the sufficiency of Scripture. The definition of scriptural sufficiency is based on passages such as 2 Timothy 3:16-17,

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

Scripture's sufficiency is well-summarized in the Abstract of Principles, which declares that Scripture is "the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience." For saving knowledge, for faith, and for obedience to God, the Bible is sufficient. The Bible is not sufficient (nor does it claim to be sufficient) for absolutely every aspect of practically navigating God's creation. If your hiking guide, helicopter pilot, or heart surgeon tells you that the only training he received for his job was reading his Bible, then you would be rightly concerned; if you want to teach your teenager to do his Algebra or to drive an automobile, then you had better seek some books and experiences outside the Bible. It may be the case that if you want to make strident statements against medical practices or pharmacology, extra-biblical research is needed as well.

Distinction between Body and Soul

The second reason that taking psych meds is not necessarily a sin involves the distinction between body and soul. The argument against psych meds would claim that the meds are being sought not just as a means to navigate this physical world in a particular way, but that the meds are meant to minister to a person's soul in a way that only Scripture can do.

IF psychiatric medications are being used as a spiritual replacement for repentance and sanctification (and Tony indicates that, in his own experience, that's how the medications WERE being used), THEN taking psych meds IS a sin. HOWEVER, it is not NECESSARY to use medications as a SPIRITUAL REPLACEMENT. Instead, medications could be a useful PHYSICAL TOOL to deal with symptoms in order to set the stage for addressing deeper, spiritual needs. If a person has a pounding headache that is distracting him from prayer, it is no sin for him to take some Tylenol before praying. If a person is having panic attacks–including rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, and nausea–it is no sin for him to take a psych med to help deal with the panic attack symptoms before moving on to address the spiritual issues of anxiousness that might be the root of the attacks.

Dire Circumstances

The third reason that taking psych meds is not necessarily a sin involves the dire circumstances in which one may be involved. If a person is involved in self-harm and suicidal tendencies, then that person desperately needs direction toward Christ and discipleship. However, if the patterns of thought and tendencies are so severe that she is in immediate danger from herself, then psychiatric medications may be a helpful step in preserving physical life until the needed spiritual work may be done. To label psych meds a sin, causing shame to those who permit their use, may take away a helpful tool for keeping someone alive long enough to hear a needed gospel word.

Conclusion

The act of taking psychiatric medications (or allowing one's child to take psych meds) cannot simply be labeled as sin due to the definition of the sufficiency of Scripture, the distinction between spiritual replacement and physical tool, and the dire circumstances in which one may be involved. We need to be careful not to call an action a sin, when the Bible has not called that action a sin: to do so may be a true violation of scriptural sufficiency. This matters to Christians who are at the end of their rope, and who are seeking tools to help get them (or their children) to a place where their thoughts are coherent enough to allow them to receive the instruction from God's Word that they ultimately need. 

Jesus in the Middle?

On February 11, 2025, Rick Warren, the former pastor of Saddleback Church, tweeted:

If the Gospel writers had revealed any contrasting political/worldview positions of the two thieves, then Warren might have a basis for making such an application. Since Scripture contains no such contrast between the thieves, Warren has basically just taken the word "middle" and loaded in a meaning for the term from outside the text. Warren's tweet is an example of false equivalence and eisegesis.

There are biblical texts that clearly have bearing on hot-button political issues of our day. For example:

• Life is consistently valued from the womb (Job 31:15; Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 44:24; Luke 1:41).
• Jesus affirms gender distinctions, and He affirms marriage as a lifelong union of a man and a woman (Matthew 19:4-6).
• Justice and love are to be extended to the "stranger [who] sojourns with you in your land" (Leviticus 19:33-34).
• Mosaic law regulates private industry in order to ensure that the vulnerable in society have a source of provision (Deuteronomy 24:19-22).

However, the exact ways in which Bible verses should influence the crafting of specific laws in our nation (at local, state, and federal levels) are debatable. Nobody should attempt to coopt the Bible–nor the focal point of the Bible: Jesus Christ our Savior–for his own political agenda. The Lord will not serve as a poster-boy for leftist, centrist, or right-wing political groups.

"When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?' 'Neither,' He replied. 'I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.' Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, 'What does my Lord have to say to His servant?' (Joshua 5:13-14 ESV)

Even God's old covenant people–national Israel–could not claim the Angel of the LORD as their own, as if He would serve their agenda. Instead, Joshua had to humbly enquire about the Lord's will, then submit to that will. Likewise, followers of Christ must–with humility, gentleness, and respect–seek the will of Christ from Scripture, and then pray for wisdom as we strive to implement His will.

Biblical political engagement does not require Christians to find a centrist position between protecting life in the womb or allowing it to be electively destroyed: it does not require Christians to find a centrist position between protecting children from genital mutilation and allowing for childhood genital mutilation. Biblical political engagement does require Christians "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Let us pray for the Spirit to help us exemplify these cardinal and heavenly virtues in our lives.

Found Written in the Book of Life or Cast into the Lake of Fire

If anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15) 

Revelation 20:15 "means that the only criterion of salvation is to have one's name written in the Book of Life" (David E. Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1103). For those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, only their "works"–written in the other books–can testify for them (Rev 20:12-13), and since all our works fall short of God's holy standard, those works are insufficient to save (at best), or they serve to justly call for our greater condemnation.

Notice the passive verbal forms in Revelation 20:15. Divine action is directly implied. God is sovereign over the names written in the Book of Life and over whom is cast into the lake of fire. All who are saved from the lake of fire owe their salvation to God, and they have no grounds for boasting before Him.

The Book of Life

And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the [Book] of Life. (Revelation 20:12a)

In Revelation: Four Views, Steve Gregg notes:

There is a noted differentiation between the books from which the dead were judged and the Book of Life... The latter was mentioned in the promise made to the overcomers in the church of Sardis (Rev 3:5). It is apparently the register of all those whom the Lamb has redeemed. Jesus told the disciples, "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). The church is composed of those "who are registered in heaven" (Heb 12:23).

The idea of a divine book of life has an Old Testament that is found in several texts. In a prayer of intercession for Israel, Moses prays that God would forgive Israel's sins, and if not, that God would blot Moses himself out of the book God had written (Exo 32:32-33). In an imprecatory section of Psalm 69, David prays that his enemies would be blotted out of the book of the living (Psa 69:28). In a prophecy concerning the remnant in Zion, Isaiah praises God that those whom He has "recorded for life" will be called holy (Isa 4:3). More specifically, Revelation 20:12 is an allusion to Daniel 12:1-3, a text that involves the General Resurrection and the Final Judgment, and which proclaims deliverance for "everyone whose name shall be found written in the book" (Dan 12:1). In each of these Old Testament verses–from the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets–the idea of a book of life or record of the living seems to involve a list of names for those who will be preserved through divine judgment.

In the Book of Revelation, prior to Revelation 20:12, having one's name written in the Book of Life is seen as the ground for (not merely the result of) faithfulness to God through persecution. In Revelation 13:8 and 17:8, the beast accomplishes universal deception, causing people everywhere to commit idolatry, and only those who have had their names written in the Book of Life will be able to resist following the beast. The names are written into the Book of Life by God prior to the deception of the beast, and the writing of the names into the Book of Life is effective to preserve God's people through the deception of the beast.

Both Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 make it clear that the names of the redeemed have been written in the Book of Life "from the foundation of the world." This is consistent with the Apostle Paul's statement from Ephesians 1:4 about the saints being chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world." Preservation through the Final Judgment is a matter of God's sovereign grace.

At the Final Judgment, books that record the works of each person will be opened. Everyone will be judged according to his or her works. But the most crucial book is the Book of Life, for it is only through having one's name written in this book that a person will be spared from the torment described in the following verses. 

The One Seated upon the Throne

Then I saw a great white throne and the One sitting upon it, from whose face Earth and Heaven fled, and no place was found for them. (Revelation 20:11) 

It is obvious that the One seated upon the throne is divine, but some believe that readers are to understand the personal identity of the One seated upon throne as God the Father and others believe that readers are to understand the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne as Christ. We should understand the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne to be Christ for three reasons: Jesus said that the Father has committed "all judgment" to the Son, Jesus said that He will sit "on the throne of His glory" to render the final judgment of all people, and Paul wrote that Jesus is the One who will "judge the living and the dead."

The first reason we should understand the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne to be Christ is Jesus' statement that the Father has committed "all judgment" to the Son. This statement is recorded for us in John 5:22. This statement is in the context of words from Christ about the General Resurrection and the Final Judgment: interconnected events that are both under the authority of the Son (John 5:22-29). If we understand that the same John who wrote the Gospel of John also wrote the Book of Revelation, then we see John 5:22 as a more explicit statement regarding the personal identity of the One on the throne, helping to interpret the less clear statement (on this point) that John records in Revelation 20:11.

The second reason we should understand the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne to be Christ is Jesus' statement that He will sit "on the throne of His glory" to render the final judgment of all people. This statement is recorded for us in Matthew 25:31. This statement is also in the context of words from Christ about the Final Judgment (Matt 25:31-46).  In Matthew 25:31, Jesus not only mentions that He will be the one who renders judgment, He also explicitly includes the detail that He renders judgment while sitting "on the throne of His glory." This explicit detail helps us in determining the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne in Revelation 20:11.

The third reason we should understand the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne to be Christ is the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus is the One who will "judge the living and the dead." Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this in 2 Timothy 4:1, a verse that also mentions Christ's appearing and His kingdom. This is consistent with what Paul had preached on Mars Hill–that the judgment of the world will come through "a man whom [God] has appointed"(Acts 17:31)–and Peter's earlier proclamation that Jesus is "the One appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42).

Some people argue that the personal identity of the One seated upon the throne in Revelation 20:11 must be God the Father. They point to Daniel 7, a passage that has some definite influence on the Book of Revelation, in which the Ancient of Days, who is distinguished from the Son of Man (and is thus clearly identified with God the Father rather than with Christ), is the One seated upon the throne. However, there is a redemptive-historical movement that we see depicted in Daniel 7:13-14 in which the Ancient of Days (God the Father) gives dominion to the Son of Man (God the Son).

Furthermore, "Christ was said to be seated with His Father upon His throne in Revelation 3:21." The ancient world knew of a bisellium– a throne that was a single piece of furniture with two seats. [David E. Aune, Revelation 1-5 (Dallas: Word Books, 1997), 262.] Just because the Father is depicted as seated on the throne in other passages does not mean that the Son is absent from the throne, or that He is not the focus of Revelation 20:11.

The personal identity of the One seated upon the throne in Revelation 20:11 is clearly Christ because Jesus said that the Father has committed "all judgment" to the Son, Jesus said that He will sit "on the throne of His glory" to render the final judgment of all people, and Paul wrote that Jesus is the One who will "judge the living and the dead." This matters to the church because it focuses our attention on God the Son, and it is through God the Son that we know God the Father rightly (John 14:6).

Last Things Teaching Outline

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of teaching on eschatology–the study of the end times or "last things"–in Sunday school at Kosmosdale Baptist Church. In my lesson, I did NOT focus on areas of controversy, but on doctrines that should be a source of glad agreement for all Christians. Below is the outline I used in teaching. 

From the Nicene Creed (A.D. 381): "He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end... we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

The Baptist Faith and Message (A.D. 2000): "God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord."

I. The Bodily Return of Christ [SEE: James P. Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2006), 452.]

A. “It will be a personal appearance[:]… the bodily appearance of Christ to men. Mark 8:38; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

B. His coming will be ‘apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation,’ as contrasted with that time in which ‘he hath been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,’ and was, ‘offered to bear the sins of many.’ Hebrews 9:25-28.

C. It will be an appearance with power and glory; (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Titus 2:12-13).

D. It will be instantaneous and unexpected. (Matthew 24:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2; Revelation 16:15)."

II. Our Bodily Resurrection

A. Rapture and Reunion

1. Rapture

a. 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

b. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

2. Reunion

a. Job 19:26-27

b. 1 Corinthians 15:40-49

B. Goal of Resurrection: Acts 24:14-15; Philippians 3:20-21

1. Dishonor for the Unjust

2. Honor for the Just

The following chart is from Sam Waldron. 

III. Final Judgment of Angels and Humans by Christ

A. By whom will we be judged? SEE TOGETHER John 5:22-29.

B. The Coming Judgment of Rebellious Angels

1. NOTE Matthew 25:41; as, apparently, Satan and his angels had rebelled and fallen from Heaven prior to the fall of Adam and Eve, apparently Hell was originally prepared for them.

2. Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 both mention the coming judgment of rebellious angels.

3. 1 Corinthians 6:3 mentions in passing that the saints will be involved in the judgment of angels.

C. Coming Judgment of All People (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Psalm 103:8-14)

1. Thoughts

2. Words

3. Deeds

D. What do the righteous receive in the judgment?

1. Joy (as Jesus had declared Matthew 25:21, "Enter into the joy of your master.")

2. Glory (as in a glorified state, morally free from sin and physically free from corruption: see below)

3. Everlasting rewards (2 Timothy 4:8)

E. The Certainty and Uncertainty of Judgment

1. What are the benefits of knowing for certain that there is a coming day of judgment?

2. What are some reasons that God does not allow us to know the exact time the Lord will come?

IV. Glorification (Romans 8:29-30; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; Jude 24-25)

A. Definition of Glorification: Our perfect, complete, or final sanctification

B. Result of Glorification: Glorification sets a believer apart from sin’s presence and possibility

Final word: Revelation 22:20-21.

The Door

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. (John 10:7-8 ESV)

The Messiah, who was the incarnate Son of God and the only way to God Father: He speaks to us. Surely, we should hang on His every word and automatically trust Him. Yet He condescends to stress the importance and veracity of His words to us, saying, "Truly, truly". Let us turn to Him, rejecting all competing voices: all the thieves and robbers, which contradict Him.

Outline for Teaching Eternal Security

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to teach Sunday school at Kosmosdale Baptist Church, focusing on the doctrine of "eternal security". Below is the outline for that lesson.

I. Scriptural Proof

A. The Teachings of Christ

1. John 3:16

a. That the life we possess when we come to Jesus in faith is everlasting–or eternal–should indicate to us that we cannot lose it.

b. If we could lose eternal life, then it would not really be eternal.

2. John 6:44-47

a. Jesus teaches that He will raise up (resurrect) all who come to faith in Him.

b. The certain connection of a person’s coming to faith to their eventual resurrection–based upon the drawing of the Father–ensures that a person who comes to true faith in Christ will never lose their salvation.

c. Jesus teaches that those who believe are given eternal life at the time of their belief.

3. John 10:28 

4.John 11:25

B. The Teachings of the Apostles

1. Romans 8:29-39

2. Philippians 1:6

3. 1 John 5:13

II. Theological Connections (https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/first-person-if-christians-can-lose-their-salvation-we-all-lose-the-gospel/)

A. Election

B. Atonement

C. Justification by Faith

D. Indwelling/Sealing of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)

E. Intercessory Work of Christ

III. Possible Objections

A. "Warning" Passages

1. Hebrews 6:4-8

a. Notice the phrase "speak to you in this way" in the next verse (Heb 6:9).

b. This is a contrary-to-fact hypothetical situation.

2. Hebrews 10:26-31

a. Notice the "if" at the beginning of this passage.

b. This is, again, a hypothetical situation, making a teaching point.

B. Personal Experiences

IV. Practical Results

Utter Confusion

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. (John 10:6 ESV) 

In Jesus' figure of speech–or parable–concerning the shepherd vs. the stranger, there are certain aspects that may be somewhat difficult to ponder. Since Jesus is both the true shepherd and the door, what does it mean that the shepherd enters by the door? What is the significance of the shepherd leading the sheep out of the sheepfold, rather than into the sheepfold? Whatever these details are meant to signify, the overall contrast between a true spiritual leader and a false leader is clear. The hypocritical Pharisees were completely mystified. In their pride, the Pharisees could not imagine themselves in the role of "the stranger".