“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.” (Revelation 22:5)
This future vision gives us hope now. The evil in our world is temporary, but what is good has a future and our relationship with God will truly flourish. This is God’s vision for the future, but as well as giving us something to look forward to, it should inform our plans and what we invest in and work for now.
As recorded at St. Luke’s
Biblical Vision 6: New Earth (Revelation 22:1-5)
Fork in a Coffin
There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things ‘in order,’ she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
One of her wishes was surprising: ‘I want to buried with a fork in my right hand.’ This was not a request the pastor had ever had before.
The young woman explained. ‘…In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favourite part because I knew that something better was coming…like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!’
So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork …the best is yet to come.’
Visions of a better future:
The best is yet to come. Over the last couple of months, we have been looking at moments where God revealed his plans or vision to key people. Each time it was a vision of a better future. Yes, there may be a painful path to that better future, but the promise is always that the best is yet to come.
We saw that in all the visions given by God to Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah and the disciples of Jesus. In their own ways, they were all about bringing blessing to all nations.
But to long for the blessing of a better world, is to accept that the world is not as it should be. To long for a world where some things are no longer the case. For Moses, there was the promise that Israel would no longer be slaves, homeless or godless. For Jeremiah, there was the promise, that the people of God would have transformed hearts, so that they would no longer be disobedient.
I wonder, when you think honestly about the world today, what you see as the big problems? What do you think needs to be no longer there in order for the future to be better.
No Longer…
As we come to the end of the book of Revelation, we are presented in the last two chapters, not just with a better new covenant, but a better new heaven and earth. And one of the features of this new heaven and earth is that the things wrong with the old heaven and earth are no longer there.
Through chapters 21 and 22, a number of things are listed:
- There will no longer be any sea, 21:1. This is not meant to be taken literally, rather the sea in the Bible stands for the chaos and unpredictability that leads to unexpected death and destruction. It stands for the horrors of war, natural disasters and pandemics, that all come unexpectedly with horrific consequences.
- Then in verse 21:4 we are told that actually there will no longer be any death. People say that death is just part of life. The Bible sees it as humanity’s great enemy. An enemy that will one day be defeated by Christ.
- Linked with that the verse also says there will be no more mourning
- and indeed, no more pain.
- Later on in 21:25, we are told there will no longer be any night, a promise repeated in 22:5. Again ‘night’ is a metaphor parallel to darkness. It is linked with wickedness and evil, but is fundamentally the state of a world divorced from God.
- The associated impurity, is itself said to no longer the there in 21:27, as are all those who do what is shameful or deceitful. A warning, that is more explicit in 21:8, that not everyone will share in the glory of the new heaven and new earth, but only those who have come over to God’s side.
Does all this sound like a better world to you? A world where all these things are no longer?
Perhaps all this is summed up in 22:3, where it says:
- “No longer will there be any curse.”
But what is the curse being referred to in this last chapter of the Bible? To understand that you need to go back to the first few chapters of the Bible.
The Curse: Cast out of the Garden
In Genesis 2, God creates a beautiful Garden of Eden, full of trees bearing plenty of fruit. He puts Adam, the first man in the Garden, and creates Eve the first woman to join him.
In the Ancient Near East, gardens were often thought of as the place where the gods lived. Indeed, we get our word, ‘Paradise’ from the Persian word for ‘garden.’ In Genesis, Adam and Eve, made in the image of God are living in God’s paradise, in his presence, serving him and ruling over the world for him.
And they can eat from ALL the trees in the garden, including the tree of life. There is only one exception. They must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps this is symbolic of choosing to decide for oneself what is good and evil, rather than leaving that to God. Perhaps it is symbolic of stepping into God’s role. Whatever it signifies, the one command they had from God was not to eat from that one tree.
Tragically, by listening to the advice of Satan, symbolised by a snake, this is what they did. In disobedience to God they ate the one fruit they were not to eat and faced God’s curse as a result – with tragic consequences.
Relationships broken
Firstly, it led to a breakdown in relationship. At first they hide from God, now too scared to face him, then they are kicked out of the garden, the place of communion with God, and they lose access to the tree of life. But there is also a breakdown in relationships in their family.
Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel, brothers. But out of jealousy, Cain kills Abel. This event, one brother murdering another illustrates the depths of evil that quickly entered the world, when we turned away from God.
Our world is no better, today in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, the Sudan and many other forgotten places, the children of Adam are still killing one another.
Work becomes toil
Secondly, work becomes toil. Most of us want to work, to be unemployed can be soul destroying. We all need to be achieving something in life, whether it is cleaning pots, or performing surgery we need a role and work to do.
Work is a good thing and God put Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it. But after his disobedience, God curses Adam and tells him: “Through painful toil you will eat food from the ground…”
And we see that today. So often, work becomes toil. It is hard, it is tiring, it is a grind. We struggle to find a good work life balance.
Rule becomes oppression:
Thirdly, power is corrupted, rule becomes oppression.
Again, God created both man and woman to rule over the world. That is clear in Genesis 1. We were meant to do that in submission to God’s perfect rule, so that we ruled the world perfectly.
But, in rejecting God’s rule, human rule has often become oppression, both of the natural world, leading to climate catastrophe, one person over another.
We see that again and again through history, where one nation of people oppresses or enslaves another nation or people. But we also see it at the domestic level.
I think that is what is meant by the curse on Eve, when she is told that the husband will rule over the wife. This is part of the curse. Even in what should be the most beautiful, intimate relationship of marriage, too often there is domestic abuse, another consequence of humanity’s rejection of God’s rule.
The curse that comes from Adam and Eve’s rejection of God, then explains much of what is wrong with our world. But, Revelation 21 and 22, presents a picture of the new earth and new heaven, where the curse is no longer.
Biblical Vision: The Curse is no Longer:
This is the vision of something better. The best that is yet to come.
In part it is a return to the original paradise of the Garden of Eden, but the world has moved on, not everything that humanity has done and achieved is corrupt. In the Garden, there was just a couple, now in the Garden city described at the end of Revelation, all nations come and bring their gifts and achievements into this better world.
So, what is the vision we are shown:
- Relationships Restored:
Fundamentally, relationships are restored. Again and again the emphasis is that God is now present with his people. The throne of God and of the lamb are in the city.
The people of God are presented as the beautiful bride of Christ and also as an unimaginably gloriously, beautiful and valuable city.
But, here also are elements from the garden of Eden. A river and a tree, both bringing life, as in the original garden. Relationship with God restored, means life restored.
It also means restoration of human relations. Perhaps that is what is meant by the phrase in verse 2, that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Is this a way of saying, that all the wars and conflicts of the past are now over? In this place, Israeli and Palestinian, Ukrainian and Russian, will walk together in peace.
- Work becomes service of God:
Secondly, work is restored as true service to God. Eternity, is not like an eternal holiday. We would soon be bored. There will be things for us to do and achieve in service to God himself. Only, then the curse will be lifted and work will no longer be toil. We will have the perfect work-life balance!
Indeed, all the talents and achievements of the past will be brought into this glorious city. What it is good and beautiful now will find its place in heaven. The great music, paintings, art and architecture will all have their place as work done for the service of God.
As it says in Revelation 21:26:
“Glory and honour of the nations will be brought into [the city].”
- Rule becomes enlightened:
Thirdly, we will still have power to exercise, a universe to rule. Now, however, we will do it properly, not thinking we know best or from corrupt selfish motives, but enlightened by the light of God.
As the last verse says:
“The Lord God will give them light and they will reign forever…” (21:5)
All of this is yet to come. I hope you catch something of the beauty and the wonder of it. I hope you find hope and courage in the midst of a world full of war, natural disasters, disease, death, mourning, pain, wickedness, impurity and lies, a world of broken relationships, toilsome work and oppressive power that much, much better is yet to come.
I hope when you eventually approach death, you will metaphorically be grasping the fork of trust in Christ, so that you are ready for the better to come.
Relevance to Our Vision:
But, if our future is already promised and guaranteed, what relevance does this have for our vision now?
As church, we are a colony or an outpost of this new heaven and new earth. A place where the Kingdom of God is near. I hope you have seen that this vision of the new heaven and new earth is not divorced from the fundamentals of life now, but a better version of it. We are not just to look forward to this future with hope, but also to look at it for inspiration to make our present world and especially our church community more like this. We are called to work for something better, something closer to this ultimate dream.
So, our vision for a better church, needs to include:
A vision for better relationships, with God and one another.
A vision for our work, both in the world and in service to the church to not be toilsome, but done in joyful service of God.
A vision that any leadership role we take on in the world or in the church is done not selfishly or oppressively, but in the light of God’s revelation and the servant-heartedness of Christ.
Too often the church tries to become like the world as it is now. What it should be doing is grasping the vision of the world that God wants to create and so, help to shape the world as it is now in the light of that vision.
Will you help us to make that vision come to fruition? Who knows perhaps the best is still yet to come for our churches in Ramsgate.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 