GOD'S NEW WORLD, DAY 36 (How to liberate the world)

???? Questions.? Many people turn to the book of Revelation with the following question in mind: How is it all going to end?? As often happens when we bring our questions to the Bible, we discover that our questions aren’t exactly the right ones.? This is often simply because our questions reflect our concerns, while God’s concerns are often quite different.? In the beginning of the book of Acts, the resurrected Jesus is with the apostles outside of Jerusalem, and the disciples ask him one of those questions:

“…“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”?He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.?But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.6-8)

Like good, faithful Jews, the apostles are eager to know if Jesus will finally do what they think the Messiah is supposed to do – liberate Israel from her enemies and make her the dominant nation on the world stage.? Isn’t that what Psalm 2 was all about?? The nations may rage, but Yahweh’s anointed king will rule them with a rod of iron from his throne on Mt. Zion.? So, the apostles ask, has the time now come to put this program into practice?? Both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus had taken the disciples completely by surprise – they could never have imagined that the Messiah would suffer and die, let alone rise from death as an advance sign of the world to come.? What the disciples would eventually come to understand was that Jesus’ death on the cross had been precisely his enthronement as Israel’s anointed king – the King of the Jews – and the launch of the kingdom of God (cf. Ac. 1.3).? Jesus had tried to explain to his apostles that the kingdom of the Creator functioned very differently from those of the world (cf. Mk. 10.32-45).? Jesus’ reign had begun from the cross, or, in Revelation’s terms, the Lamb’s rule had begun with him being slaughtered by his enemies.

???? A new Creation/how it ends.? And so, when we bring our questions about “the end” to Revelation, we are surprised to find that Revelation does not come to a close with an “ending”, but rather with a new beginning.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.?And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God... (Rev. 21.1-2)

???? It’s important to realize that God’s work of new creation has already begun – it began on Easter morning.? The resurrection of Jesus was the launch of the new creation (cf. 1 Cor. 15; Rom. 8; Jn. 20, etc.).? The themes of “kingdom” and “creation” always go together.? Jesus was enthroned on Good Friday and God’s new world was launched on Easter morning.? As Revelation describes the consummation of the Creator’s plan, God’s throne is said to be in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 22.3).? Remember the apostles’ question?? They asked Jesus about the fate of the nation of Israel, but they didn’t realize that they were standing in a whole new world – the world of which Jesus is Lord.? The New Testament tells us that as followers of Jesus, we inhabit two worlds simultaneously – “the Present Age” as well as “the Age to Come” (cf. 1 Cor. 10.11, etc.).? The world “as we know it” is winding down, and the world as God wants it to be is coming into being.? As we look around at our Father’s world, it’s easy to forget that this world of ours has been redeemed and is being remade.? When we are tempted to despair, we have to remind ourselves that the people of God are always called to bear witness to the Creator and his love – that’s why we’re here.? So how does Revelation describe the new creation?

???? A new Jerusalem.?

“I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...?And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home?of God is among mortals. He will dwell?with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for?the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21.2-4)

???? The ancient world was choked full of temples, much like the modern world is replete with churches, synagogues, mosques, and various places of worship.? The ancient gods were believed to “inhabit” their temples in some way; the image of the god(dess) in question symbolized the divinity’s having taken up residence in its “home” (naturally, the last step in the construction of a temple was the installation of the god’s statue in a conspicuous place within the shrine).? Interestingly, the Ancient Near Eastern writer who penned the book of Genesis tells the story of the creation of the cosmos in such a way that would have been immediately recognizable to an ancient architect – Genesis 1 describes the creation of the world in terms of the construction of a temple!? What is created on the sixth day?? Of course, human beings who are made in the image of the Creator (cf. Gn. 1.26-31)!? This is a fascinating vision of what humans are – intriguingly, the ancient Israelites were not supposed to fabricate any images of Yahweh in the form of animals or humans (cf. Ex. 20.1-6).? The invisible God of Abraham was to be “seen” in his image-bearing creatures, and in no other way.?

???? Interestingly, humans are tasked to “rule” over the entire creation.? To reflect the Creator’s image is to be endowed with authority from God to wisely and lovingly govern the world.? Of course, the gift of authority has been abused ever since the Fall, when rebellion against God’s authority resulted in human tyranny vis-à-vis each other and creation.? Notice how in the new creation, the human vocation to rule is restored (cf. Rev. 22.5; Ps. 8).

???? Not content to remain “in heaven” (cf. Eccl. 5.2), Yahweh – the invisible God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – desired to dwell among his people, that his presence – mediated by a pillar of cloud/fire – would be part of the daily life of the Israelites.? To that end, Yahweh instructed Moses to construct a “tabernacle” (a large tent) that the Israelites could transport during their 40-year journey through the wilderness.[1]? Whenever the Israelites made camp, the tabernacle would be erected in the center, and the 12 tribes would encamp on all four sides of Yahweh’s portable shrine.? Once the Israelites settled in Canaan, the tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, and once Shiloh had been destroyed by the Philistines (cf. 1 Sam. 1—6), the ark of the covenant was kept in a private home until David brought it to Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam. 6).? Upon the construction of the Jerusalem temple by Solomon, the ark was installed in its rightful place – behind the veil in the Holy of Holies (cf. 1 Kings 8).? The Jerusalem Temple would be the central (and only authorized) Israelite shrine for the worship of Yahweh, until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.[2]

???? The penultimate chapter of Revelation opens with the moment of new creation.? Then, a new Jerusalem descends from the new heaven to the new earth.? As the new Jerusalem lands, a loud voice proclaims that “the home (i.e. tabernacle) of God is among mortals” (Rev. 21.3; cf. Lev. 26.11-13).? There is no temple in this city (Rev. 21.22); indeed, the new Jerusalem is designed in the shape of the Holy of Holies of the old Jerusalem Temple (cf. Rev. 21.15-17).? The entire city is replete with the unmediated presence of the Creator.? Not only that, God’s people will see his face (Rev. 22.4; cf. Ex. 33.9-11, 17-23).? The God who designed the cosmos as a temple in which his human creatures would represent him, the God who “went camping” with his people for 40 years in the desert – this God now floods the temple of his new cosmos with his immediate and palpable presence (cf. Hab. 2.14).? Heaven and earth are united in the new cosmos which is unveiled at the close of Revelation – a cosmos suffused with the presence of the Giver of life, which means that the new world is one without death, without pain and without sad tears.

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.?And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.?The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…Then the angel?showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb?through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life…and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 21.22 – 22.2)

???? Outsiders.? There’s no way around it; the book of Revelation is full of violence.? Whether the violence is perpetuated by evil empires or by the Creator of all things, it is pervasive and vividly portrayed throughout the book.? One way of understanding this explosion of destruction is that Revelation is the ultimate expression of the biblical longing for evil to be judged and for righteousness to prevail (cf. the imprecatory Psalms).? This violent text has often produced one of two (misguided) reactions – many readers are thrilled to see that at long last evil (and those who cooperate with it) will be eradicated and the true believers transported to a better place while many others are horrified that such gratuitous chaos would ever be attributed to God, and they therefore dismiss Revelation as some kind of canonical anomaly.[3]

???? And yet, judgment is not the last word in Revelation.? The final two chapters consist of a stunning vision of salvation – which is no less baffling than the seemingly never-ending series of judgments which precede it.? While Revelation is often believed to end with “the great white throne judgment”[4] scene with all of humanity being dispatched to their eternal destination – either hell (the lake of fire) or heaven, the final chapters actually follow this vivid portrayal of divine justice vis-à-vis “all the dead” (cf. 20.12).? What we find as chapter 21 opens is a vision of nothing less than a new creation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…” (Rev. 21.1; cf. Gn. 1.1).? This disorienting (yet very biblical!) vision of ultimate salvation continues with the “new Jerusalem” descending from heaven in order to become the dwelling of those who belong to God and the Lamb (21.2-5; cf. 7.9-17).? Wedding imagery suffuses this “unveiling” of the union of heaven and earth.? Not only is this salvific vision very “earthly”, it is also surprisingly inclusive – “the gates of the city will never be shut” (21.25).? More surprising still, the perennial enemies of God are now given access to the “heavenly” city (which is now on earth: 21.24; 22.2).

???? While countless empires have sought to conquer the world, the Creator seeks to liberate his world from all those who would enslave it.? Those who have sought to dominate and bend the world to their will are now brought into harmony with the Creator’s purpose and are made to participate in the fullness of the kingdom of God.? “The nations will walk by the light of the city[5], and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Rev. 21.24; cf. Is. 2.3; Micah 4.2).? Also, the leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations (22.2).? The kings of the earth who have always conspired against the Creator and the nations who have raged against Yahweh’s anointed king (cf. Psalm 2.1-3) are – so Revelation tells us – destined, not for annihilation, but rather for healing.? The kings of the earth will make pilgrimage to the new Jerusalem to offer their glory to the Source of all true glory.? As the prophet Jeremiah had proclaimed about Yahweh and his people:

“For thus says the?Lord: Your hurt is incurable;?your wound is grievous… I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,?the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great,?because your sins are so numerous… I will restore health to you,?and your wounds I will heal, ?says the?Lord…I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob?and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound… And you shall be my people,?and I will be your God.” (Jer. 30.12-22)

The God who judges (wounds) is also the God who saves (heals).? Perhaps the book of Revelation is the story of how the Creator “operates” on his world which has been sickened by sin and wounded by evil, in order to finally heal it and reconcile it to himself…

???? One more glance at the risen Jesus and the apostles:

“…“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”?He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.?But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.6-8)

???? As for the apostles just before the Ascension, so it is for us.? God has promised to remake his world.? In the meantime, we have a job to do.? We have been sent as witnesses to the goodness of God and the love of Christ.? The nations of the world are destined for healing and we are called to proclaim that and embody that.? In a world bent on power and violence, we are called to witness to restorative justice and love.? Jesus is Lord and we are the people of the Creator.? Let us follow and serve our Lord with joyful hope.? Amen.

[1] Cf. Ex. chapters 25—40 (instructions for the construction of the tabernacle); Ex. 33.7-11; Lev. 26.11-13; Numbers 1.50-53; 2.17.

[2] The ark of the covenant (cf. Ex. 25; Rev. 11.19) is presumed to have been confiscated by the Babylonians.? There is no evidence of it after the final deportation of Judahites to Babylon in the early 6th century B.C.? The second Jerusalem temple was built in 515 B.C. and would eventually be destroyed by the Romans in the year AD 70.

[3] There are many precedents throughout Church history for this attitude – whether it was Marcion’s view of the Hebrew Scriptures (OT) in the 2nd century or Luther’s view of the Letter of James in the 16th century.

[4] Cf. Rev. 20.11-15.

[5] I.e. the light of God and the Lamb: cf. Rev. 21.23.