A Dangerous Proposition

Revelation 21:7,8 All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.

Freedom is one of those things that we all cherish, even if sometimes we’re not entirely sure what this whole “freedom” thing actually looks like. Nevertheless, the idea of liberty remains an alluring one. 

Today’s a special day for all my friends in the United States. July 4th. Independence Day. The day when America celebrates the casting off of the shackles of colonial rule. Great stuff!

As I said, we all love our freedom. And yet, in this day and age, I wonder if we haven’t taken the idea, and twisted it, and turned it into something that it was never meant to be. 

In a sense, freedom is about self-determination. That’s what Independence Day celebrates. But taken a step further, we can twist the fact that moral truth is objective into the notion that it’s relative – that it’s based on feelings … how I feel, how you feel.

Over and over around the world, the timeless truths that upon which our various societies have been built are being cast aside, replaced by the idea that if it feels good, do it. That seems to be the mantra of this age. 

But that’s a dangerous proposition. Why? Because one day (perhaps sooner than we might think) the time of reckoning will come. 

Revelation 21:7,8 All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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Ethan Crawshaw

Dear Katrina, Thanks for posing this interesting question as to the meaning of ‘cowardly’ in Revelation 21:8. The ...

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Dear Katrina,
Thanks for posing this interesting question as to the meaning of ‘cowardly’ in Revelation 21:8.
The Koine Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written employs three words
for fear – phobos being flight from being scared, eulabeia being caution and deilia for cowardice or
timidity. In Revelation 21:8 deilois is used from the noun deilia. In fact the King James Bibles does
not use the cowardly in this verse as in the English Standard Version but rather the fearful. In his
celebrated commentary on the whole Bible dating from the 17 th century Matthew Henry notes that
‘the fearful lead the van in this black-list’. In other words, it is the worst state to find oneself in on
the Day of Judgement with the Second Death looming for unbelievers.
My best take on who the cowardly may be whom the Apostle John is referring to here is those who
have denied faith in Jesus. Why? – because it is too dangerous to acknowledge belief in him. It was
certainly perilous towards the end of the 1 st century to be overtly Christian with successive Roman
persecutions underway. It is equally dangerous for Christians in many countries today, when more
and more Christians are martyred than ever before.
Apparently, all Jesus’ disciples were martyred except for possibly John. By way of interest Tertullian,
a 2nd century Christian writer from Carthage observed that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of
the Church". (Apologeticus).
It has been estimated that the phrase ‘do not fear’ appears in the Bible some 365 times, e.g.:
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your
hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (words of Jesus to his disciples)
So, where does this leave us? We must learn to trust in Jesus more and more, no matter what may
be required of us, resting on his final words to his disciples:
Matthew 28:20
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
My best wishes,
Your brother in Christ,



Tony Jibunor Okonji

I believe that freedom, true Godly freedom goes with responsibility. God is free but He has never given Himself the ...

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I believe that freedom, true Godly freedom goes with responsibility. God is free but He has never given Himself the freedom to do as He likes even though He is the Almighty and is not acceptable to anyone yet he limits Himself by His own word of power. He does not repent nor go back on His word. Has He said it, then be rest assured that He will do it because He is without a shadow of turning.
I’m truly blessed by your article and pray that God will continue to send this kind of reminder that we are not our own, and to all always remember that freedom goes with responsibility. Amen



Katrina

Hi Bernie, what does God mean when He refers to cowards? I’m having trouble understanding this, sincerely, ...

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Hi Bernie, what does God mean when He refers to cowards? I’m having trouble understanding this, sincerely, Katrina.



Lucinda Iris

Freedom is embracing responsibility and not relinquishing but we can’t be responsible for everybody. Feeling ...

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Freedom is embracing responsibility and not relinquishing but we can’t be responsible for everybody. Feeling free is one feels after a good days work and pay. Those that can’t contribute in other ways. Just an example to illustrate what freedom means to me and yes self determination but all in good time for those who experience physical health issues. Not a definition but it’s what I keep in mind everyday. God Bless you and happy Independance Day