The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament by Richter Sandra L

Author:Richter, Sandra L. [Richter, Sandra L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2010-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

The New Jerusalem

This brings us at last to Revelation 21–22, the end of the story.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Rev 21:1-5)

What John is describing here is what Christians call “heaven.” But unlike the images common to our imaginations—disembodied spirits, clouds and wings, harps and chubby cherubs—the biblical author is describing heaven as a new earth. The garden has been restored, the primordial deep (“chaos”) has been defeated, and Ezekiel’s city/temple is being lowered from the heavens to serve as the residence of the redeemed.9 Hear the voice from the throne ringing out into the silence and grief of ʾAdām ’s wasted world: “I am making all things new!” (Rev 21:5). The Creator speaks and the earth and its inhabitants are finally free (cf. Rom 8:21). Healing has come; mourning is passed; death is no more. This is the New Jerusalem, purified and whole. And with the New Jerusalem comes the Presence, “and God Himself shall be among them” (Rev 21:3; cf. Rev 21:22-27). Glory to his name.

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:1-5)

This New Jerusalem (what we know as “heaven”) is all that the city of man in Eden was meant to be. In fact, it is Eden—a fruit-filled paradise animated by a cosmic river and graced by the Tree of Life. Here, once again, the unhindered presence of God and the unhindered maturation of a sinless humanity coexist.

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