Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Billy Graham
The Tree of Life
Adam and Eve blew it in the Garden of Eden. Instead of taking to eat from the Tree of Life, they took from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3). God warned them, “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17); and, of course, they did (Genesis 3). The fall of man came, and it was a hard fall, from which mankind never recovered. Thankfully, Jesus will restore fallen mankind and the creation, too.
Whoever’s Thirsty
Do you remember when Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37b)? If we drink water, we’ll get thirsty again. But if we come to receive the water of life, we’ll never thirst again. The Apostle John put it very well in the Book of Revelation, writing, “’Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17).
He Is Coming Soon
The next to the last verse in the Bible has John writing, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). This verse doesn’t mean He’s coming quickly because this was written over 2,000 years ago. What John means is what Jesus said: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27). It means He will come in an instant, like lightning; although the way the world looks today, it does appear He’s coming soon.
Seeing God
The reasons that we hope are these: “The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3), and we “will see his face” (Revelation 22:4) for the very first time. That should give you reason to hope.
Conclusion
Billy Graham is right: The end of the Bible shows that everything will turn out right, even though it may not look like it today. The reason is that God said it in His Word, and it’s not up for debate. Jesus is coming again (soon?), so “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
