And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says [to me], Write, for these words are true and faithful.
God Himself speaks here, straight from the throne. What He announces is not repair but replacement. Two questions follow: who is the Speaker, and how far does "all things" reach?
One writer points out which figure is missing from the scene:
Notice that it is God who is prominent through this section... The One who sits on the throne speaks. We do not get the Lamb mentioned. It is the glory of God in the fullest possible sense that we have here. And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." No doubt Christ is the Alpha and the Omega too, as we find in Revelation 22:13. But it is not the Lord as such who acts and speaks here. It is God.
Commentators differ here. Others read the same title as belonging to Christ, and draw a parallel between the two creations:
He who acts, to produce these new creation things, is the One "who was seated on the throne" — our Lord Jesus Christ. He acted to bring into existence the old creation, according to Genesis 1. He acts again to bring into existence the new. As before, so here, the word of His power is enough. In the past, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). Now again He speaks and His words are, "It is done." Both are accomplished with equal ease.
This is not a tidying up of the present world. God Himself is the measure of what appears in the eternal state:
God on the throne of all power, of absolute sovereignty, declares His will — all things new. The old order of things is not improved. It is not carried over into the eternal state in any way, because that state demands a condition of things that fits it. God is the measure and source of the whole eternal state, whether of persons or things. Nothing short of what suits God can appear in the unchanging state.
The scope takes in the material world:
In the eternal state everything will be new in the fullest sense of the word. The material heavens and earth will be new, and "all things" found in them will be new. All those things that we know at present, spoken of as "the former things," will have passed away.
The word for "new" here makes two claims at once: about origin, and about permanence:
The One who sits on the throne declares that He makes all things new. "New" here is a very distinct word. It does not mean "new" as opposed to "old." It means "new" as never having been in existence before, either in kind or in itself, and never getting old. Nothing and nobody can ever get old in new creation.
Men attempt the same thing in their own strength. One writer sets the two side by side:
Today, the men of the world are trying to get rid of "the former things." They are seeking to "make all things new." They can break hearts and fill the earth with death, sorrow, crying, and distress. But they cannot end the sorrows of the world. They cannot "make all things new," or bring in a new order, as they dream in vain.
God tells John to write the words down, and then guarantees them:
This sentence fixes the character of the eternal state. Grand words indeed, and worth recording! God also confirms His own magnificent declaration by adding, "for these words are trustworthy and true." He demands our attention, and claims our whole-hearted and unqualified agreement... This is not a promise. It is God's own assertion of what will be fact when the moment comes for it to happen.
The verse describes the future, but its principle is not held back until then:
In the new heaven and new earth all will be new. Everything will then be on the basis of "new creation." It will suit the full and unrestrained expression of all God's nature. It will be the fulfilment of His eternal purpose. We, thank God, are on that basis now as "in Christ" (see 2 Cor. 5:17).
- Throne. The announcement comes from the One seated on the throne. Commentators differ on who that is. Some read it as God as such, with the Lamb unmentioned. Others read it as Christ, acting as He acted in the first creation.
- New. The word does not mean an improved version of the old. It means what has never existed before, and what can never grow old.
- Nothing carried over. The old order is not upgraded or imported. God Himself is the measure of the eternal state, so only what suits Him appears in it.
- No rival. Men try to sweep away "the former things" and build a new order. They can fill the earth with sorrow; they cannot make all things new.
- Written. God tells John to write because the words are trustworthy and true. This is not a hope offered, but a fact declared in advance. Those in Christ already stand on that basis.
And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely.
This verse comes at the point where God's judgments have run their full course and He announces the end. Two questions rise out of it: who is speaking here, and why is water offered to the thirsty in a scene where nothing is lacking?
One writer lists what has already happened by the time God speaks:
Our verse begins, "And He said to me, 'It is done.'" These words seem to announce the curtain coming down after the grand and terrible scene has passed before the eye. Then follows the declaration, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." The end has arrived — "it is done!" The last seal had been broken, the last trumpet blown, and the last bowl poured out. The power of Satan had been crushed and the folly of man rewarded. The kingdoms of this world had become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. The false prophet and the beast had received their doom. Satan had been thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. The Great White Throne had pronounced its irreversible sentence on the wicked dead, and Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
Others read the same two words as a guarantee: "His words, 'It is done,' are final and positive. Nothing can hinder God from carrying out His purposes" (L. M. Grant).
One commentator draws out how far this title reaches:
The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet are followed by the explanatory phrase, "the beginning and the end." They show that all testimony on earth had its origin in God, and that its end is His glory. Creation, providence, promise, history, prediction, prophecy, testimony, love, and grace each have their source in God and in Him their end. Nothing on God's side ends in failure. God triumphs at the end.
The last letter carries as much weight as the first: "if Alpha gives the beginning, Omega shows not only a perfect continuance, but the seal placed on the end of all. It means the finish of the road, and the completion of the work" (J. Wilson Smith).
Commentators differ here. Some hold that God as such speaks in this chapter, and that Christ takes the same title later:
It is God who is prominent through this portion... The One who sits on the throne speaks. We do not get the Lamb mentioned. It is the glory of God in the fullest possible sense that we have here... No doubt Christ is the Alpha and the Omega too, as we find in Revelation 22:13; but it is not the Lord who acts and speaks here; it is God.
Others read both places where the title appears the same way: "in both cases the speaker is our Lord Jesus Christ" (F. B. Hole).
The new heaven and the new earth leave nobody wanting, so the mention of thirst points elsewhere:
This is present, not future. No one will hunger or thirst in the "new heaven" and "new earth." The splendid list of negatives in verse 4 rules out the thought of thirsty ones in the eternal state, except in the lake of fire. The heart of God overflows with pity and tenderness towards the needy and unsatisfied sons and daughters of men. The "fountain," the source of life itself, is promised to the thirsty. It is God's gift, and freely given, as all His gifts are.
The offer names a fountain, and one writer weighs that word:
Not of the river, or the stream, note that. The river of life will flow out in a mighty volume in the coming age, but now men are invited to the Fountain. The river has been polluted. Men's opinions and "doctrines of demons" have been poured into it, and the error has spread as the stream has flowed on.
Thirst here is not something you achieve: "This is the thirst of realizing one's own emptiness as a sinner in need and so turning to the one source of this living water, Jesus Christ, who gives freely from a heart of perfect grace" (L. M. Grant). One writer answers the reader who fears he is not thirsty enough. He uses an older translation, which says "freely" where the ESV says "without payment":
"But," you say, "how can I be sure it means me? Perhaps I am not thirsty enough, not anxious enough, for salvation." Very likely; no one ever was as anxious as he should have been... But the point is not the measure of your anxiety, but the fact of your being thirsty or willing at all... "I will give... freely." That is God's side. "Let him take... freely." That is your side. God gives; all you have to do is take what He gives.
Verse 8 names the opposite destiny:
Hear these gracious words! They are placed right beside that awful verse about the lake of fire. God has set them side by side: the fountain of living waters, and the lake of fire... But those who despise the open fountain of living waters must be thrown, with all their evil, into the lake of fire.
- Done. God speaks after the last seal, trumpet, bowl and throne. The curtain falls on judgment, and nothing can stop what He has purposed.
- Source. Creation, history, prophecy, love and grace all start in God and finish in His glory. On His side nothing fails.
- Fountain. He offers not the downstream river that men have muddied, but the spring itself — life at its source.
- Free. The only qualification is thirst — a sense of your own emptiness. God gives; your part is to take.
- Or fire. Verse 8 names the alternative. God sets the open fountain and the lake of fire side by side.