Day 36: Revelation 21:22-22:5

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Have you ever found yourself so immersed in the plot and conflict of a novel that you couldn’t wait to see how things were going to resolve?

I remember my first favorite book, The Monster at The End of This Book by Jon Stone. It was a Sesame Street book based on the character Grover. Each page was a deeper dive into the mystery of the monster in the book. It was captivating. So captivating that I had to immediately turn to the end only to discover that Grover was in fact the monster at the end of the book. WOW!

Grover’s worries about the monster didn’t amount to much in view of the final resolution.

In this passage we find the climactic moment of Biblical narrative – a restoration of Eden. But is it really Eden as we thought it was? We find more than just a garden in Revelation. We find that creation has indeed grown in beauty and population. We find the city of God’s dwelling. There are nations and they walk by the light of God’s glory and presence rather than in light of their own knowledge. Once again, we find the tree of life whose leaves are healing for the nations and whose fruit is always in season.

This earthy vision of God’s restoration is a vision of hope. It is God’s gift to us who are navigating the earlier chapters. It is a life-giving ending where we are again with God and He has made things right.

This is the joyous vision set before us as we journey with the Holy Spirit here and now.

Set your eyes, heart, and mind upon this vision as you follow Jesus and love others today.

Phil Starr | Student Ministry Pastor