Stroll through Scripture for August 31, 2025

Based on Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5

Revelation 21 and 22 hold some of my favorite passages of Scripture.  John is painting a picture for us in the same way that Bob Ross would walk viewers through his PBS painting program.  We’d hear something overhear and then something over there.  We’d hear about large mighty tree.  And all along, as he talked, the rest of us would be able to see it as it came to life on the canvas.  

John is painting a picture for us of the new heaven and new Jerusalem – piece by piece and bit by bit.  The more he tells us, the more it comes together so we can see it.  And what a beautiful sight it is.  It contrasts with the world as we know it – the world as humanity has known for the vast majority of its existence.  

The people who preach Rapture theology have a problem.  They want to focus on the death and destruction and how God throws a fit and destroys everything.  Yet John in Revelation rejects that.  And we see it in Revelation 21 and 22.  There is no escape plan for humanity.  Rather, God intends to dwell in the renewed creation with humanity.  This is what God has been up to all along.  While humanity has been busy trying to seek God out there somewhere, God has continually been coming to creation.  

We see this in the creation story where God walks in the garden.  We see it in the Incarnation when God takes on flesh and dwells amongst us as Jesus.  We hear about it now in Revelation – God coming to creation.  God never intended for us to be in search of God as if God was ever absent.  God comes to creation, over and over again.  And that’s important because what it means is that God wants us to be fully human, not something else.  

Revelation 21 and 22 are the perfect book ends to Scripture.  Next week, we jump all the way back to Genesis 1 and the creation story.  We’ll hear about God creating order out of chaos.  We’ll hear about creation being good.  We’ll hear about elements of creation.  And in Revelation 21 and 22, we hear about restoration of creation, a re-establishment of order out of chaos.   In both stories we hear about a tree in the middle.  The first one brings separation and death; the second one brings healing for the nations.  

Questions for Reflection:

• Revelation 21 is often used at funerals.  When you read Revelation 21, what hope do you hear?
• Revelation 22 speaks of the tree in the middle of the new Jerusalem with leaves for the healing of the nations.  What kind of healing to you envision that is?