Revelation 21. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem… And a heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.’” (21:1-3)

The end of the story has arrived – the great rescue plan for humankind has been successful. Genesis 1-2 presented to us a story of creation, where God designed humankind in His own image and dwelt with them in the Garden of Eden. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of man were one and the same. Then sin and rebellion entered the story in Genesis 3, and a holy God could no longer dwell with sinful people.

The whole of scripture between Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22 is the story of God setting things right again. When Jesus Christ came to earth, died and was resurrected, we finally had an overlap between the two circles of separate kingdoms. In Revelation 21 the dwelling place of God is with man again, as it was in the beginning. The garden of Eden is gone, the earth has passed away. The end state is now a beautiful new world, where God and man dwell together – the heavenly city of the new Jerusalem has come down to earth (21:2,10).

As a Florida beach-girl I have always been disturbed that John tells us, “There was no longer any sea” (21:1). I love the sea, the water, and the beach! However, in the ancient world the sea was unstable, a place where monsters dwelt, and a place of violence and death. (Hurricanes do come from the sea!) In their worldview, the sea was evil – the beast came from the sea – so John is telling us that evil is gone forever. (Will there be an ocean in the new earth? I hope so! There’s a big river and it needs to go somewhere!)

The sea is one of seven evils that John tells us are no more – the others are death, mourning, weeping, pain (21:4), the curse (22:3), and the night (22:5). The curse of Genesis 3 is undone, death is no more, and thus there is no longer cause for weeping or mourning. Hallelujah!

The new Jerusalem (21:9-27) is a beautiful, glorious city. The streets are made of gold, there is no temple, and the Lord gives the city its light. Note too that the gates bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (21:12) and the twelve foundations bear the names of the twelve apostles (12:14). Israel of old and the Christian church are united in God’s final scheme of things.

John’s message of hope and a call to endure are clear. He writes again to the churches (Revelation 2-3), “The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be His God, and he will be my son.” (21:7). Make sure that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life (21:27).