NOTES ON THE HEAVENLY VISION: REFLECTIONS ON THE LAST BOOK OF REVELATION – PART I: MAKING ALL THINGS NEW

PART II: The New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:9-11)

PART III: The River of Life (Rev. 22:1-5)

PART IV: The Time is Near (Rev. 22:6-11)

PART V: Jesus Testifies to the Churches (Rev. 22:12-17)

PART VI: A Warning (Rev. 22:18-19)

PART VII: “I am Coming Quickly!” (Rev. 22:20-21)

SCRIPTURE. “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy].’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost.’” – REVELATION 21:5-6, AMP

QUOTATIONS

NOUWEN. “To be bored, therefore, does not mean that we have nothing to do, but that we question the value of the things we are so busy doing. The Great Paradox of our time is that many of us are busy and bored at the same time.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, ‘Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life,’ 2009; edited

GLADD. “The Resurrection of Jesus is not simply a sign which God has granted in favour of His Son, but is The Inauguration, the entrance into history, of the Times of the End.” ― Benjamin L. Gladd, ‘Making All Things New: Inaugurated Eschatology for the Life of the Church,’ 2016; edited

PIPER. “When God makes all things New, He will make us spiritually and morally as pure as flawless crystal, He will give us a body like the body of His glory, He will renovate all Creation to take all futility and evil and pain out of it, and finally He Himself will come to us and let us see His face. And so forever and ever we will live with pure hearts and glorious bodies on a New Earth in the presence and the glory of our Heavenly Father.” – John Piper, “Behold, I Make All Things New,” ‘Desiring God,’ April 26, 1992; edited

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

Have you ever wondered just WHY God created all this stuff, to put it plainly? I have. I mean, when God had His first thoughts of Creation in the numberless Epochs before Time even existed, He must have had something really important in Mind for doing so.

German theologian-poet ERICH SAUER once again ventures a couple of thoughts in answer to this Grand Question, as big as the Cosmos itself.

“The Question whereto God created the world is answered more plainly in the Scripture. (1) ‘The Revealing of the Glory of God.’ Everything that God does has Himself eternally as its goal; it comes to pass ‘for His name’s sake’ (Psa. 23: 3), for Himself throughout (Eph. 5: 27), ‘to the praise of His glory’ (Eph. 1: 6, 12, 14), so that ‘God may be all in all’ (I Cor. 15: 28) …

(2) ‘The Revealing of the Love of God.’ But this self-displaying Plan of God must be perfect, and therefore unfold itself in a double manner. Not only His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience, but also His righteousness, love, and truthfulness must be manifested. The Former can indeed be effected in the realm of space and matter, that is, in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms; but the Latter demands the creation of morally free personalities, and therefore a Spiritual Kingdom within created beings.” – ‘The Dawn of World Redemption,’ 1951; edited

THE FALL. But in His omniscience, He must have known that things would go desperately wrong, as we have discussed in earlier Commentaries in our reflections on Theodicy [the Problem of Evil]. First in the Heavenlies, when ‘Lucifer’ rose in his unmitigated Hubris to seek to dethrone the very Godhead, plunging one third of the angels with him in the First Breach in Cosmic Order and Holiness (cf. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:1-7; Revelation 12:4).

Subsequent to that Primordial Fall is the ‘Fall of Man’ in the Garden of Eden, equally devastating to the entire history of Mankind, and made possible via that First Breach that paved the way for this Human Collapse of immeasurable impact.

SAUER again constructs a brilliant theological bridge to help us understand this Second Fall in the context of God’s Master Plan for His Creation.

The Serpent had promised Man the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and in a distorted form he has kept his word. But ‘instead of perceiving the evil from the free height of the good, he perceived the good from the deep abyss of the evil.’ According to God’s Plan, Man through victory in temptation should have perceived what good is and what evil would be; but through sin he subsequently perceived what evil is and what good would have been. And because at the Tree of Knowledge he had wantonly sinned, he must now also be cut off from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3: 22-23). ‘Death’ entered the human race, and in Paradise began Man’s hell. Yet Man could never forget his native place. All peoples have sung of ‘Paradise Lost,’ and hoping and waiting have watched for its Return. Therefore, Paradise is the longed-for Goal of Waiting Humanity.” Selah.

This, beloved, is the necessary Context into which we move forth in our study of God’s Making All Things New. Or in the parlance of JOHN MILTON in ‘Paradise Lost’ (1667), the very Regaining of the Garden’s Perfection, thus fulfilling the Creator’s Original Plan for Mankind.

It is called, ‘Redemption’ by any other name.

1. GETTING BACK HOME

On reflection then, it is easier to grasp the very Modus Operandi of Mankind over the centuries and millennia as an ‘Epic Search for Meaning’ in a desperately Fallen, otherwise meaningless world. Including seeking Answers to more Questions about ‘Why’ we are all here, ‘How’ we got here, and ‘Where’ we are all heading.

At its root, the Search for Meaning is our ‘Search for Paradise Regained.’

VICTOR FRANKL. In his epic work by that title, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning,’ published in 1946, this brilliant physician, psychiatrist, philosopher and Holocaust survivor from four German death camps including Auschwitz, delves into the deeps of how a man confronts humanity at its savage worst.

Allow me to take some time to summarize this powerful statement, with the understanding that Frankl’s Search is mostly absent of any recognition of God or Canon, save for five references to God in his book. That is, this is Man’s Search for Meaning in a brutal world, but without God’s Framework to help address the Crisis of human existence in the direst of circumstances.

And finding the reason to go on.

Taken from the Summary by DR. JOHN MESSERLY, professor of philosophy and like Frankl, a non-believer, in his essay published in ‘Reason and Meaning’ on December 30, 2015 (edited).

The first part of the book tells the story of his life in the Concentration Camps—needless to say, it is not for the faint of heart. Although Frankl survived, his parents, brother, and pregnant wife all perished. (There is no good substitute for a close reading of the book to convey the unrelenting misery of the situation, or to appreciate Frankl’s reflections on it. The record of his personal experience and observations of concentration camp life is a priceless cultural legacy.)

Frankl’s philosophical views that emanate from his experience begin by quoting Nietzsche: ‘He who has a Why to live ’can bear with almost any How.’ Whether we live to return to our loved ones or to finish our book, if we have ‘a Meaning to live for,’ then we have a reason to survive no matter how miserable the conditions of our lives. This desire to live, what Frankl calls ‘the will to meaning,’ is the primary motive of human life. Putting these ideas together we are driven by the desires to survive, exist, and find meaning.”

KEY IDEA. Later in 1984, Frankl added a crucial element to his framework that he termed, ‘Tragic Optimism.’ He defined it this way: “In brief it means that one is, and remains, optimistic in spite of the ‘Tragic Triad,’ … a Triad which consists of … (1) Pain; (2) Guilt; and (3) Death. This … raises the question, How is it possible to say ‘yes’ to life in spite of all that?”

He then answers his own question by this proposed Resolution of the Problem of Pain in human life:

“Hence the reason I speak of a ‘Tragic Optimism’ … an Optimism in the face of Tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) Turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) Deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) Deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action.”

DK’S TAKE. My reason for momentarily taking us on this ‘Viaje sin Dios,’ or, Journey without God, is to give us insight into the Plight of Man longing for Paradise Lost, without his having the slightest idea of what that Paradise consisted of, or the Divine Plan for its Restoration.

And with sincere Empathy for those poorer souls who had not the constitution of a Victor Frankl or Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Elie Wiesel or Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who descended to such mechanisms as drugs or pleasure or hatred or even suicide to resolve the staggering human condition of the soul-numbing ‘Loss of God,’ our Maker. Selah.

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy].’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost.’” – REVELATION 21:5-6, AMP

So does God in Triune compassion and power – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – race into this Existential Vacuum to Rescue Man from his Lostness! This the central part of the Divine Plan formed before even the first sounds broke throughout the Cosmos on that First Day of Creation of it, perfectly constructed to ‘Get us back to God’s Paradise Lost.’

Indeed, from the very Beginning He had always intended to ‘Make All Things New.’ So, we travel to the KEY TERMS from our Lesson today, to get us started.

• MADE NEW. Taken from the Greek term, ‘Kainos’ [καινός], or: “Fresh, new, novel, unused – as if it had never been put to use before, as with freshly minted or fashioned; unworn; recently made, as superior to what it succeeds; unprecedented, unheard of – a brand new kind or category of Being; forever young; dedicated or consecrated into a qualitatively new use or purpose for existence; for a completely new order of activity and vigor, with a New Nature.”

• IT IS DONE! By the time we get to Revelation Chapter 22, God shouts this term to all Creation. From ‘Ginomai’ [γίνομαι]: “To come into being, am born, become, come about, happen; properly, to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another; to come into being/manifestation implying motion, movement, or growth; to be born, or to come into existence, begin to be, receive [a new order of] being; to (fully) recover one’s senses or understanding; i.e., to become completed.” May I add the Spanish to compliment the Greek here: “¡Se acabó!” – ‘It is over, finished, fulfilled, completed, done!’

• WATER OF LIFE. Here we have the Key to Eternal existence in the word, ‘Zóé’ [ζωή]: “Life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence; refers to the Divine Principle of Life in the spirit and soul; distinguished from ‘bios’ or mere physical life, but is the noble word expressing all of the highest and best which Christ Himself is, and which He now gives to the saints; the highest blessedness of the creature; the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate; the absolute Fullness of Life, both essential and ethical; life real and genuine, ‘Vita quae sola vita nominanda’ [The Life that should be called life alone] – after the Resurrection from the dead.”

JOHN GILL. “‘Behold, I make all things new’ – Which is to be understood not of the renovation of persons at conversion, when a new heart and spirit are given, and men are made wholly new creatures; for this is the work of the Spirit, and which is done daily, and is not peculiar to any particular period of time; nor of the renewing of the Church state at the beginning of the Gospel, when the Jewish Church state and ordinances waxed old, and vanished away, and a New Covenant took place, a new and living way was opened, and new ordinances appointed, since all this was before John had this vision; nor was there any need of it to represent it to him.

But of the making of the New Heaven, and the New Earth, which Christ ascribes to Himself and of His forming his ‘Church Anew,’ making it a New Jerusalem, bestowing new glories upon His people, both in soul and body, and so presenting them to Himself a Glorious Church; and of the new administration of His Kingdom in a very singular and glorious manner; so that it respects a ‘New People’ [along with] a new habitation, and a new manner of ruling over them; all which is His own doing, and is marvellous; and because it is a matter of great importance, and is wonderful and certain, therefore a ‘Behold’ is prefixed to it.” – ‘An Exposition of the New and Old Testaments,’ 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

OUR NEW SPIRITUAL BODY. Clearly, for me at least, one of the most mysterious, captivating and stunning promises of our New Life in Christ’s Kingdom is the New Cosmic Body we shall receive at the moment of ‘The Parousia.’

Paul the Apostle writes of it in the most electrifying terms:

“Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].” – 1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-52, AMP

• BE CHANGED. Here the full measure of a very personal ‘Mystery’ is caught in the Greek term, ‘Allassó’ [ἀλλάσσω]: “To [fundamentally] change, alter, or exchange (one form for another); to transform; to cause one thing to cease and another to take its place [τά ἔθη], Acts 6:14; to make completely different; transmute; to change the shape or appearance; ‘to metamorphose;’ as a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly.”

• IN A MOMENT! Taken from the term, ‘Atomos’ [ἄτομος]: “Uncut [or uncuttable], an indivisible moment (of time); (that cannot be cut into a smaller portion); an indivisible part of time, a moment; lit., ‘in the twinkling of an eye;’ too small to be measured, like a ‘split second;’ from the pre-Socratic philosophies of Democritus and Leucippus, who first posited the ‘atom’ as the smallest, indivisible unit of physical reality, around 350 BC.”

• AT THE LAST TRUMPET. This definition focuses on the important Greek idea taken from ‘Eschatos’ [ἔσχατος], or: “At the last, extreme; at the last; finally, till the End; most remote moment of time; that which concludes something (as with an age or history itself); denotes the ‘Eschaton,’ or when the development of God’s Plan for salvation or rescue shall come to a close; the Time of the final and decisive Judgment, as in the term, ‘The Last Day;’ thus the outermost limit of God’s grace toward Redemption.”

• RAISED IMPERISHABLE. Here we need two terms to fully apprehend the power of this Moment. First, ‘Egeiró’ [ἐγείρω]: “To arouse or awaken in order to raise up or resurrect [from mortality or from death itself].” Second, the word in Greek is, ‘Aphthartos’ [ἄφθαρτος]: “Undecaying, indestructible,  incorruptible; hence, ‘immortal;’ no longer liable to decay or experience death in essence of Endless Continuance; completely exempt from wear, waste or perishing; an aspect of deity, though we are not deified, but ‘become like Him’ in this immortality and vastly increased understanding, perception and strength’” (cf. 1 John 3:2).

PAUL ELABORATES. “So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.” – 1 CORINTHIANS 15:42-44, AMP.

Bringing the richness of interpretation to this Supernatural Metamorphosis is the work of the EDITORS of ‘Eternal Walk Ministries’ in their essay entitled, “Our New Spiritual Body,” published on February 29, 2020.

Quoted in full, that you might ponder the wonder of this from time to time. They posit FOUR CHARACTERISTICS of these new, Cosmic Forms.

IMPERISHABLE:  Our new bodies will not be subject to sickness, disease, or death. Our bodies will never age or cause any aches mentally or physically, it will be perfect in every way, because God is perfect and Heaven is perfect. Our new body will have a mind filled with perfect [Truth and] Love for the Father, the Son, and for each other.

GLORIOUS: Our bodies will bring glory to God because there will be no temptation and no sinful thoughts. We will be perfectly sinless with a heart filled with perfect [Truth and] Love. We will experience life with no temptations and with perfect [truth and] love, which we can only imagine. ‘For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known’ (1 Corinthians 13:12). When we see the Father and the Son face to face, we will ‘know fully, as we are known fully.’

POWERFUL: Our bodies will not be frail like our earthly bodies, but durable and not prone to injury; no scratches, pulled muscles, or headaches. Our brains will probably be more powerful in their understanding and memory. The more we understand the Father and the Son the more our hearts will desire to glorify them.

SPIRITUAL: Our new spiritual body will crave things of the Spirit just as our earthly body craves things of the earth. The difference is that on earth Satan is the Prince of the Air while in Heaven the Father and the Son fill the air with their Divine Glory. Therefore, our body will crave the Spiritual Glory of God, and we will continue to be fed through the Holy Spirit. And we will have perfect communications with the Father and the Son through the Spirit.

When Jesus arose from the grave, He had a body; He talked to his Apostles and he ate with them. ‘They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:37-39).’”

DK’S TAKE. So that ought to hold you for a bit, my friends, with just a tiny slice of what awaits us in The Eschaton, and Beyond. I have previously posited that we shall have much work to do, co-governing the earth and star systems with our Sovereign, exploring it forever, since it will take that long to learn of it, beloved.

1. LAST THOUGHTS

I have confessed to you before that I have always loved to ‘Think Big Thoughts,’ because that is what God and Creation and Eternity are: Huge! Without God’s supernatural endowment, virtually Incomprehensible. So it is that He rewards us in so many ways for our loyalty, not the least of which is an Immortal Body and Soul to travel with Him forever and ever and forever

WHAT IS ‘ETERNITY’? But what does that look like according to our presently occluded, limited and altogether mortal frames of reference. As I close this teaching, I am going to take a final stab at defining just where we are all headed.

Here I turn to the fascinating work of Bible scholar and mathematician, OWEN WEBER in his website blog, ‘Christian Data Resources,’ in an essay entitled “What Will Eternity Be Like?” (2008).

Quoted at length one last time, to fill your cups with Divine Expectation of what all this struggle down here in This Present Darkness is for, you beloved of the King.

“Knowing what Heaven will be like will give us a positive outlook in this life. ‘Where’ do you hope to spend Eternity? Most of us would probably not be surprised to know that the Bible teaches that unbelievers will spend Eternity in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14-15). However, did you know that the Bible doesn’t teach that believers are going to spend Eternity in Heaven? Rather, Christians will spend Eternity on the ‘New Earth’ (Revelation 21-22). The old earth and heavens that we know will be destroyed, and God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth. This New Earth will contain cities with streets of gold and pearly gates. The New Earth will be a glorious place where all curses are removed. We won’t have pollution, and we won’t be afraid of wild animals. Nobody will sin, and there will be no criminals. It will be ‘Paradise’ [Regained]. There will be no death, sorrow, crying, pain, or suffering (Revelation 21:4), although we will have likes and dislikes, as well as surprises and disappointments.

What do you expect to ‘look like’ in Eternity? We will look much like we look now, and others will be able to recognize us, just as people were able to recognize Jesus after His Resurrection, as well as Abraham and Lazarus after their deaths (Luke 16). However, all of the problems of our physical bodies will be eliminated, including disease, deformities, and blemishes. We will have Glorified Bodies, and they will be unique. We will probably have variety then as now. Some will be taller, shorter, heavier, or lighter than others. We will probably remain in an Ageless State in the prime of life, just as Adam and Eve were created in the prime of life. We can think of it as being 25 or 30 years old or so. Ours will be a physical existence on a physical planet, forever.

What do you expect to ‘do’ in Eternity? You probably won’t be singing in a big choir forever. Rather, Eternity will have distinct features that might be foreign to us today. However, in terms of what we do know today, I believe we will work, create and produce things, and participate in an economy, much as we do now. After all, didn’t God give Adam and Eve things to do even before they sinned? Our work then will be much more enjoyable than it is now because we will be working in a perfect environment with perfect bodies. Our jobs will be challenging and rewarding, and never boring or tiring, and we’ll love serving God through our jobs. We may have many of the same jobs we have today, with some being eliminated to adjust to our new economy. For example, we’ll need no police because there will be no crime, no doctors because there will be no disease, and no funeral parlors since there will be no death. However, I think we’ll have musicians, writers, teachers, and computer programmers. We will continue to invent things that improve our lot, and Eternity will just get better and better.

We will also ‘worship God’ in Eternity. Maybe we’ll be taught by the Prophets of old. We’ll enjoy fellowship and recreation as well. Eternity will be fun and enjoyable, like the Millennium extended. I think Eternity will be what God had planned for Adam and Eve had they not sinned. I think we will take our Spiritual Maturity to Heaven. We will all grow in spiritual maturity, but we won’t be at the same level. God won’t just zap us with all Truth and Knowledge. We’ll continue to learn and teach as we do now. That’s why it’s so important that we study and learn the Bible in this life, because we’ll retain that knowledge in Heaven. We need to keep on ‘Preparing for Eternity.’ Though we’ll all be happy in Heaven, some may enjoy special rewards from God, and others may be somewhat disappointed.”

CODA. This is the most responsible rendering of what I shall call ‘thoughtful speculation’ on where we are headed. It is mind-stretching beyond our comprehension. It is filled with luminous discovery and wonder – and joyous work assigned by our King of kings. It is perfect, but not robotic. It is powerful, but not without tenderness for one another.

And best of all:

It is Glorified Companionship with the One who has saved us for such a Time as ‘Then.’ Oh, my dear friends of God. Everything will be brand spanking NEW, as we used to say it. Fresher than a thousand spring times, filled with a lush richness and endless variety that we have never, ever imagined.

So shall we soon enough fly to Him and all of this, beloved, faster than even than the swiftest of eagles!

Ever your servant, DK