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Today’s comments mentioned God’s blessings
for those who will be living
in the Paradise to come.
We will consider these questions:
What blessings did Jehovah promise?
And why can we be sure
that they will come true?
First, what did Jehovah promise?
The answer is found in a Bible verse
cited at the end of today’s
Watchtower comments.
This verse is dearly loved by all of us.
It is Revelation 21:4.
There we read:
“[God] will wipe out
every tear from their eyes,
“and death will be no more,
“neither will mourning nor outcry
“nor pain be anymore.
The former things have passed away.”
After we read this beautiful promise
to those whom we meet in the ministry,
people often say,
“This sounds too good to be true.”
Of course, when Jehovah inspired John
to write down
this promise of life in Paradise,
Jehovah knew that we today
would use these words
in our Kingdom preaching work.
And, of course, Jehovah also knew
that many people would find this promise
hard to believe.
So that brings us to our second question:
Why can we be absolutely sure
that these blessings will come true?
Well, Jehovah did not only give us a promise
but he also gave us reasons why
this promise could be trusted.
So, what reasons did Jehovah provide
that we can share with others to help them
to see why God’s promises are true?
Now, we find the reasons
in the same Bible chapter
but in verses 5 and 6.
We read there:
“And the One seated on the throne said:
“‘Look! I am making all things new.’
“Also he says: ‘Write,
“for these words are faithful and true.’
“And he said to me: ‘They have come to pass!
“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.’”
Now, why does this Bible passage
strengthen our faith in God’s promises?
Well, in commenting on verses 5 and 6,
the Revelation Climax book states this:
“It is as though Jehovah himself
“were signing for faithful mankind
a guarantee, or title deed.”
So God’s promise is mentioned in verse 4.
And then in verse 5,
we have Jehovah’s signature, so to speak,
to guarantee the truthfulness of his promise.
So let’s take a closer look
at the statements made in verse 5.
The verse starts with an introduction:
“The One seated on the throne said.”
What makes this sentence special?
It introduces one of only three instances
in the entire book of Revelation
when Jehovah himself
spoke in the visions given to John.
Now,
the fact that this guarantee is provided,
not by a powerful angel,
not even by the resurrected Jesus,
but by Jehovah himself
highlights that the words
that follow are trustworthy.
Why is that so?
Well, think of this comparison.
When a very weighty announcement
needs to be made
at Bethel or in the congregation,
an elder who is highly respected
by the Bethel family
or by the congregation
may be selected to make that announcement.
Why?
Because the trustworthiness
of the announcement
is strengthened
by the reputation of faithfulness
of the elder making the announcement.
Now, similarly, the reputation of Jehovah
as the God “who cannot lie”
makes the guarantee that we read in verse 5
completely reliable.
What is the first part of the guarantee?
Jehovah, declared:
“Look! I am making all things new.”
Note the words, “I am making.”
Since Jehovah speaks about the future,
why did he not state: “I will make”?
Well, for Jehovah, this promise
is so certain to come true
that he speaks of these coming changes
as if they were already taking place.
That’s why he states: “I am making,”
not “I will make.”
Let’s now look at the next part
of the same statement,
“making all things new.”
In Revelation chapter 21,
the phrase “making all things new”
refers to two activities of Jehovah.
We could describe them
as replacing and restoring.
In verse 1, we read about replacing:
“The former heaven and the former earth
had passed away.”
Here Jehovah is making a clean sweep.
He will replace
the present heaven and the present earth
with “a new heaven and a new earth”
—that is, a new form of government
and a new human society.
However, in verse 5,
referring to Paradise, Jehovah is speaking,
not about replacing,
but about restoring.
A Bible reference work notes
that ‘God did not say:
‘“I am making all new things.”
But God said, “I am making all things new.”’
So Jehovah will make
all existing things new
by restoring them to a state of perfection.
What else is part of God’s guarantee?
Look at the latter part of verse 5:
“Write, for these words
are faithful and true.”
God’s command to John
is summarized in one word: write.
Jehovah also stated the reason
why John should write them down:
“[God’s] words are faithful and true.”
Indeed, we can trust God’s words
because they are accurate and reliable.
And today, we are grateful that John
obeyed God’s command to write
because, as a result,
we can read and study the book of Revelation.
What is the next part of God’s guarantee?
Note verse 6:
“They have come to pass!”
—which means they have become reality.
Jehovah spoke to John
as if all the things mentioned in verse 4
had already happened.
And rightly so,
because nothing can stop Jehovah
from fulfilling his purpose.
That same reassuring thought
is also mentioned
in the next part of God’s guarantee:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
As we mentioned earlier, in Revelation
Jehovah himself spoke three times
in the visions of John.
These instances are found at Revelation 1:8,
21:5, and 22:13.
Now, significantly,
on each of these three occasions,
Jehovah made the same statement:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
Alpha is the first letter of the alphabet,
the Greek alphabet,
and Omega the last letter.
Why does Jehovah use that title for himself?
Well, Alpha begins the alphabet;
Omega concludes the alphabet.
Similarly, when Jehovah begins something,
he will carry it out
to its successful conclusion.
For example, in the beginning,
in the garden of Eden,
Jehovah stated that it was his purpose
that not just perfect people
but perfect descendants of Adam and Eve
would fill the earth and transform it
into a paradise.
At that moment Jehovah said,
as it were: “Alpha.”
Moreover, as stated at Genesis 2:3,
by the end of God’s rest day,
his original purpose for the earth
and for mankind will have come true.
By the end of the millennium,
perfect descendants of Adam and Eve
will inhabit a paradise earth
just as Jehovah had stated.
At that time, Jehovah will say,
as it were: “Omega.”
So in conclusion,
what assurances can be shared
with those who doubt
that the promises of the Paradise
will come true?
Well, we can sum up the assurances
in a threefold guarantee.
First, Jehovah himself made the promise.
He has the wisdom and the desire
to make it come true.
Second, the fulfillment of his promise
is so certain that from Jehovah’s viewpoint
it has already happened.
Third, when Jehovah begins something,
he carries it out to its conclusion.
And remember, each time
when we relate this threefold guarantee
to people we meet in the ministry,
we also deepen our own trust
in Jehovah’s promises.
So the next time that we read
Revelation 21:4
and someone says,
“This sounds too good to be true,”
what could we do?
Read verses 5 and 6
and show how Jehovah guarantees his promise
by signing it with his own signature.

Hermanus van Selm: Jehovah Guarantees Future Blessings (Rev. 21:4-6)