By Brandon Smith
In the previous chapter, God told His people that He would deliver them one day. That sounds good, right? Except, of course, part of God making all things new means cleansing and purifying us of sin. When we read this chapter, we see a grim hope for those who turn away from God or prophesy against Him.
But because God is good, loving, and just, one day sin and evil and death will be no more. He will eradicate all ungodliness from creation, and we will live for eternity with Him without any fear of slipping back into sin or losing a loved one to cancer or war. The end of Revelation gives us a clear picture of this:
Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But the cowards, Faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:6–8).
When thinking about Christ separating believers from unbelievers for eternity, we cannot help but think of the terrifying D-word: death. But death is inevitable, right? We often try to find a way to comfort the loved ones of the deceased. “It’s just the way it is,” we say. “It’s a part of life,” we assure them. “It’s sad, yes, but also expected; death comes for all of us.” But death is not natural—it’s actually unnatural. Sin brings death, but sin is not meant to exist. And to eliminate death, God must also eliminate sin.
Through Christ, we will be cleansed of all unrighteousness so that we can live forever with God, no longer worrying about sin, death, or even false prophets coming into our fold. God will bring justice, and He will fulfill His promise here in Zechariah 13—that His people will be delivered out of the fire and that He will hear their voice.
Written by Brandon D. Smith
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