Revelation 21b Commentary
At the center of creation is the Word. That’s how John began his gospel. Well, the Creator God (the Lamb) is back in the workshop. He makes all things new: New Heaven and new Earth!
The closing chapters of Revelation bring hope and joy. There is peace in the thought that the life we know has an expiry date. Righteousness is the standard we strive to achieve today, but it’s the standard that has the last word.
Israel’s precious stones on her religious emblems reappear to emphasize the limitless value of Yahweh’s gifts.
Symbols begin to disappear, replaced by real items. The temple is replaced by God’s glorious presence. The physical objects we see are replaced by God’s very presence – whatever the scripture means!
We could see things from this point: The LORD God, the Creator God is the source of energy. He created the Sun to sustain us. He will give us something else to sustain us in the new creation. Poor us, how can we understand all these items!
But we could also play with the thought that the LORD God created light before creating the Sun. And this light was the light of the world. John has these complex ideas in the opening lines of the gospel that bears his name. So we have the Word and the Light and the Lamb and the… They all point to the one seated on the throne!
Read verse 14 and think of the words of our LORD Jesus: “On this rock, I will build my church”. Revelation has a way of resurrecting dead thoughts! At one point, the New Jerusalem is the bride! At another point, it is a physical city with physical dimensions.
The High Priest’s vestments had 12 precious stones on a component that hung close to the High Priest’s heart. We want to think about our High Priest in the real temp – The Lamb being the real Temple. The symbols are still there as we cannot understand the realities of what John has seen! Whatever it is, it is gloriously wonderful!
The Book of Life. Once again, we must look at this line as an action plan. Check the book, have you seen your name there? This is written to ensure you and I won’t miss out.
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